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CROOK    IN    THE    LOT, 

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CROOK  IN  THE  LOT; 


SOVEREIGNTY  AND  WISDOM  OF  GOD 


THE  AFFLICTIONS  OF  MEN. 


BY  THE  LATE/ 

REV.  THOMAS  BOSTON. 


LONDON  : 
JAMES  N1SBET,  BERNERS  STREET. 

MDCCCXXXII. 


CROOK  IN  THE  LOT. 


Eccl.  vii.  13. 

Consider  the  work  of  God :  For  who  can 
make  that  straight  which  he  hath  made 
crooked? 

A  JUST  view  of  afflicting  incidents  is 
altogether  necessary  to  a  Christian 
deportment  under  them  :  And  that  view 
is  to  be  obtained  only  by  faith,  not  by 
sense.  For,  it  is  the  light  of  the  word 
alone  that  represents  them  justly,  disco- 
vering in  them  the  work  of  God,  and 
consequently  designs  becoming  the  di- 
vine perfections.  These  perceived  by 
the   eye  of  faith,  and  duly  considered, 


I  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

afford  a  just  view  of  afflicting  incidents 
fitted  to  quell  the  turbulent  motions  of 
corrupt  affections  under  dismal  outward 
appearances. 

It  is  under  this  view  that  Solomon,  in  the 
preceding  part  of  this  chapter,  advances 
several  paradoxes,  which  are  surpris- 
ing determinations  in  favour  of  certain 
things,  that,  to  the  eye  of  sense,  look- 
ing gloomy  and  hideous,  are  therefore 
generally  reputed  grievous  and  shocking. 
He  pronounceth  the  day  of  one's  death  to 
be  better  than  the  day  of  his  birth;  namely, 
the  day  of  the  death  of  one,  who  having 
become  the  friend  of  God  through  faith, 
hath  lived  to  the  honour  of  God,  and 
the  service  of  his  generation,  and  thereby 
raised  to  himself  a  good  and  savoury 
name  better  tha.i  precious  ointment.  In 
like  manner,  he  pronounceth  the  house 
of  mourning  to  be  preferable  to  the  house 
of  feasting,  sorrow  to  laughter,  and  a 
wise  mans  rebuke  to  a  fool's  song  ;  for 
that,  howbeit  the  latter  are  indeed  the 
more  pleasant,  yet  the  former  are  the 
more  profitable.  And  observing  with 
concern,  how  men  are  in  hazard,  not 
only  from   the  world's   frowns   and  ill- 


THE    CROOK    IN     THE    LOT.  3 

usage,  oppression  making  a  wise  man 
mad,  but  also  from  its  smiles  and  ca- 
resses, a  gift  destroy eth  the  heart ; 
therefore,  since  whatever  way  it  goes 
there  is  danger,  he  pronounceth  the 
end  of  every  worldly  thing  better  than 
the  beginning  thereof.  And  from  the 
whole,  he  justly  infers,  that  it  is  bet- 
ter to  be  humble  and  patient,  than 
proud  and  impatient,  under  afflicting 
dispensations  ;  since,  in  the  former  case, 
we  wisely  submit  to  what  is  really  best; 
in  the  latter,  we  fight  against  it.  And 
he  warns  us  against  being  angry  with 
our  lot,  because  of  the  adversity  found 
therein  ;  cautions  against  making  odious 
comparisons  of  former  and  present  times, 
in  that  point  insinuating  undue  reflec- 
tions on  the  providence  of  God,  and 
prescribes,  first,  a  general  remedy  against 
that  querulous  and  fretful  disposition, 
namely,  holy  wisdom,  as  that  which 
makes  the  best  of  every  thing,  and  even 
giveth  life  in  killing  circumstances;  and 
then  a  particular  remedy,  consisting  in 
a  due  application  of  that  wisdom,  towards 
forming  a  just  view  of  the  case,  Consider 
b  2 


4  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

the  work  of  God :  For  who  can  make  that 
straight  which  he  hath  made  crooked? 

In  which  words  is  proposed,  1. The  re- 
medy itself;  2. The  suitableness  thereof. 

First,  The  remedy  itself,  is  a  wise 
eyeing  of  the  hand  of  God  in  all  we  find 
to  bear  hard  upon  us  :  Consider  the  work, 
or,  see  thou  the  doing  of  God,  namely,  in 
the  crooked,  rough,  and  disagreeable 
parts  of  thy  lot,  the  crosses  thou  findest 
in  it.  Thou  seest  very  well  the  cross 
itself;  yea,  thou  turnest  it  over  and  over 
in  thy  mind,  and  leisurely  viewest  it  on 
all  sides;  thou  lookest,  withal,  to  this 
and  the  other  second  cause  of  it,  and  so 
thou  art  in  a  foam  and  a  fret:  But  wouldst 
thou  be  quieted  and  satisfied  in  the  mat- 
ter, lift  up  thine  eyes  towards  heaven,  see 
the  doing  of  God  in  it,  the  operation  of 
his  hand  :  Look  at  that,  and  consider  it 
well;  eye  the  first  cause  of  the  crook  in 
thy  lot;  behold  how  it  is  the  work  of  God, 
his  doing. 

Secondly.  As  for  the  suitableness  of  this 
remedy,  that  view  of  the  crook  in  our  lot 
is  very  suitable  to  still  indecent  risings  of 
heart,  and  quiet  us  under  it :  "  For  who 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  5 

can,  that  is,  none  can,  make  that  straight 
which  God  hath  made  crooked?  As  to 
the  crook  in  thy  lot,  God  hath  made  it; 
and  it  must  continue  while  he  will  have 
it  so.  Shouldst  thou  apply  thine  utmost 
force  to  make  it  straight,  thine  attempt 
will  be  vain :  it  will  not  alter  for  all 
thou  canst  do :  only  he  who  made  it 
can  mend  it,  or  make  it  straight.  This 
consideration,  this  view  of  the  matter, 
is  a  proper  means,  at  once,  to  silence 
and  to  satisfy  men,  and  so  to  bring  them 
unto  a  dutiful  submission  to  their  Maker 
and 
lot. 

Now,  we  take  up  the  purpose  of  the 
text  in  these  three  doctrines. 

Doct.  I.  Whatsoever  crook  there  is  in 
one's  lot,  it  is  of  God's  making. 

Doct.  II.  What  God  sees  meet  to  mar, 
one  will  not  be  able  to  mend  in  his  lot. 

Doct.  III.  The  considering  of  the 
crook  in  the  lot,  as  the  work  of  God,  or 
of  his  making,  is  a  proper  means  to 
bring  one  to  a  Christian  deportment  un- 
der it. 

Doct.  I.  Whatsoever  crook  there  is  in 
one's  lot,  it  is  of  God's  making. 


6  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

Here,  two  things  are  to  be  considered, 
namely,  the  crook  itself,  and  God's  making 
of  it. 

I.  As  to  the  crook  itself,  the  crook  in 
the  lot,  for  the  better  understanding  there- 
of, these  few  things  that  follow  are  pre- 
mised. 

1.  There  is  a  certain  train  or  course  of 
events,  by  the  providence  of  God,  falling 
to  every  one  of  us  during  our  life  in  this 
world  :  And  that  is  our  lot,  as  being 
allotted  to  us  by  the  sovereign  God,  our 
Creator  and  Governor,  '  in  whose  hand 
our  breath  is,  and  whose  are  all  our  ways* 
This  train  of  events  is  widely  different  to 
different  persons,  according  to  the  will 
and  pleasure  of  the  sovereign  manager, 
who  ordereth  men's  conditions  in  the 
world  in  a  great  variety,  some  moving  in  a 
higher,  some  in  a  lower  sphere. 

2.  In  that  train  or  course  of  events, 
some  fall  out  cross  to  us,  and  against  the 
grain;  and  these  make  the  crook  in  our 
lot.  While  we  are  here,  there  will  be 
cross  events,  as  well  as  agreeable  ones, 
in  our  lot  and  condition.  Sometimes 
things  are  softly  and  agreeably  gliding 
on  ;  but,  by  and  by,  there  is  some  in- 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  7 

cident  which  alters  that  course,  grates  us, 
and  pains  us,  as  when  we  have  made  a 
wrong  step,  we  begin  to  halt, 

3.  Every  body's  lot  in  this  world  hath 
some  crook  in  it.  Complainers  are  apt 
to  make  odious  comparisons :  they  look 
about,  and  taking  a  distant  view  of  the 
condition  of  others,  can  discern  nothing 
in  it  but  what  is  straight,  and  just  to 
one's  wish;  so  they  pronounce  their 
neighbour's  lot  wholly  straight.  But 
that  is  a  false  verdict;  there  is  no  per- 
fection here;  no  lot  out  of  heaven  with- 
out a  crook.  For,  as  to  '  all  the  works 
that  are  done  under  the  sun,  behold  all 
is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit.  That 
which  is  crooked  cannot  be  made 
straight.'  Who  would  have  thought 
but  Haman's  lot  was  very  straight, 
while  his  family  was  in  a  flourishing 
condition,  and  he  prospering  in  riches 
and  honour,  being  prime  minister  of 
state  in  the  Persian  court,  and  stand- 
ing high  in  the  king's  favour  ?  Yet  there 
was,  at  the  same  time,  a  crook  in  his 
lot,  which  so  galled  him,  that  '  all  this 
availed  him  nothing/  Esth.  v.  13. 
Every  one  feels  for  himself,  where  he  is 


8  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

pinched,  though  others  perceive  it  not* 
Nobody's  lot,  in  this  world,  is  wholly 
crooked  ;  there  are  always  some  straight 
and  even  parts  in  it.  Indeed,  when 
men's  passions,  having  got  up,  have  cast 
a  mist  over  their  minds,  they  are  ready 
to  say,  all  is  wrong  with  them,  nothing 
right ;  but,  though  in  hell  that  tale  is,  and 
ever  will  be,  true,  yet  it  is  never  true  in 
this  world  ;  for  there,  indeed,  there  is  not 
a  drop  of  comfort  allowed,  Luke  xvi.  25, 
but  here  it  always  holds  good,  that'  it  is  of 
the  Lord's  mercies  we  are  not  consumed/ 
Lam.  iii.  22. 

4.  The  crook  in  the  lot  came  into  the 
world  by  sin  :  it  is  owing  to  the  fall, 
Rom.  v.  12.  '  By  one  man  sin  entered 
into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin;'  un- 
der which  death,  the  crook  in  the  lot 
is  comprehended,  as  a  state  of  comfort 
or  prosperity  is,  in  scripture  style,  ex- 
prest  by  living,  1  Sam.  xxv.  6.  Johniv. 
50,51.  Sin  so  bowed  the  hearts  and 
minds  of  men,  that  they  became  crooked 
in  respect  of  the  holy  law;  and  God 
justly  so  bowed  their  lot,  that  it  became 
crooked  too.  And  this  crook  in  our  lot 
inseparably  follows  our  sinful  condition, 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  9 

till  dropping  this  body  of  sin  and  death, 
we  arrive  within  the  gates  of  heaven. 

These  being  premised,  a  crook  in  the  lot 
speaks,  in  general,  two  things,  (1.)  Ad- 
versity, (2.)  Continuance.  Accordingly 
it  makes  a  day  of  adversity,  opposed  to 
the  day  of  prosperity,  in  the  verse  imme- 
diately following  the  text. 

The  crook  in  the  lot  is,  First,  Some  one 
or  other  piece  of  adversity.  The  pros- 
perous part  of  one's  lot,  which  goes  for- 
ward according  to  one's  wish,  is  the 
straight  and  even  part  of  it;  the  adverse 
part,  going  a  contrary  way,  is  the  crooked 
part  thereof.  God  hath  intermixed  these 
two  in  men's  condition  in  this  world ; 
that,  as  there  is  some  prosperity  therein, 
making  the  straight  line,  so  there  is  also 
some  adversity,  making  the  crooked. 
The  which  mixture  hath  place,  not  only 
in  the  lot  of  saints,  who  are  told,  that  in 
the  world  they  shall  have  tribulation,  but 
even  in  the  lot  of  all,  as  already  observed. 
Secondly,  It  is  adversity  of  some  conti- 
nuance. We  do  not  reckon  it  a  crooked 
thing,  which,  though  forcibly  bended 
and  bowed  together,  yet  presently  reco- 
vers its  former  straightness.    These  are 


10  Tilt    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

twinges  of  the  rod  of  adversity,  which 
passing  like  a  stitch  in  one's  side,  all 
is  immediately  set  to  rights  again  :  one's 
lot  may  be  suddenly  overclouded,  and 
the  cloud  vanish  ere  he  is  aware.  But 
under  the  crook,  one  having  leisure  to 
find  his  smart,  is  in  some  concern  to  get 
the  crook  evened.  So  the  crook  in  the 
lot  is  adversity,  continued  for  shorter  or 
longer  time. 

Now,  there  is  a  threefold  crook  in  the  lot 
incident  to  the  children  of  men. 

1.  One  made  by  a  cross  dispensation 
which,  howsoever  in  itself  passing,  yet 
hath  lasting  effects.  Such  a  crook  did 
Herod's  cruelty  make  in  the  lot  of  the 
mothers  in  Bethlehem,  who  by  the  mur- 
derers were  left  '  weeping  for  their  slain 
children,  and  would  not  be  comforted, 
because  they  were  not.'  Matth.  ii.  18. 
A  slip  of  the  foot  may  soon  be  made, 
which  will  make  a  man  go  halting  all 
his  days.  '  As  the  fishes  are  taken  in  an 
evil  net:  So  are  the  sons  of  men  snared 
in  an  evil  time.'  Eccl.  ix.  12.  The 
thing  may  fall  out  in  a  moment,  under 
which  the  party  shall  go  halting  to  the 
grave. 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  11 

2.  There  is  a  crook  made  by  a  train 
of  cross  dispensations,  whether  of  the 
same  or  different  kinds,  following  hard 
one  upon  another,  and  leaving  lasting 
effects  behind  them.  Thus  in  the  case 
of  Job,  while  one  messenger  of  evil  tid- 
ings was  yet  speaking,  another  came,  Job  i. 
16 — 18.  Cross  events  coming  one  upon 
the  neck  of  another,  deep  calling  unto  the 
deep,  make  a  sore  crook.  In  that  case, 
the  party  is  like  unto  one,  who  recover- 
ing his  sliding  foot  from  one  unnrm  piece 
of  ground,  sets  it  on  another  equally 
unnrm,  which  immediately  gives  way 
under  him  too :  or,  like  unto  one,  who, 
travelling  in  an  unknown  mountainous 
track,  after  having,  with  difficulty,  made 
his  way  over  one  mountain,  is  expect- 
ing to  see  the  plain  country;  but,  instead 
thereof,  there  comes  in  view,  time  after 
time,  a  new  mountain  to  be  passed. 
This  crook  in  Asaph's  lot  had  like  to 
have  made  him  give  up  all  his  reli- 
gion, until  he  went  into  the  sanctuary, 
where  this  mystery  of  Providence  was 
unriddled  to  him.  Psalm  lxxiii.  13— 17. 
Solomon  observes,   '  That  there  be  just 


12  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

men,  unto  whom  it  happeneth  according 
to  the  work  of  the  wicked.'  Eccl.  viii.  14. 
Providence  taking  a  run  against  them,  as 
if  they  were  to  be  run  down  for  good 
and  all.  Whoever  they  be,  whose  life  in 
no  part  thereof  affords  them  experience 
of  this,  sure  Joseph  missed  not  of  it  in 
his  young  days,  nor  Jacob  in  his  middle 
days,  nor  Peter  in  his  old  days,  nor  our 
Saviour  all  his  days. 

3.  There  is  a  crook  made  by  one  cross 
dispensation,  with  lasting  effects  thereof 
coming  in  the  room  of  another  removed. 
Thus  one  crook  straightened,  there  is 
another  made  in  its  place :  and  so  there 
is  still  a  crook.  Want  of  children  had 
long  been  the  crook  in  Rachel's  lot. 
That  was  at  length  evened  to  her  mind  ; 
but  then  she  got  another  in  its  stead,  hard 
labour  in  travailing  to  bring  forth.  Gen. 
xxx.  l.j  xxxv.  16.  This  world  is  a  wil- 
derness, in  which  we  may  indeed  get  our 
station  changed ;  but  the  remove  will  be 
out  of  one  wilderness  station  to  another. 
When  one  part  of  the  lot  is  evened,  some 
other  part  thereof  will  speedily  become 
crooked. 


THE  CROOK  IN  THE  LOT.  13 

More  particularly,  the  crook  in  the  lot 
hath  in  it  four  things  of  the  nature  of  that 
which  is  crooked. 

(1.)  Disagreeableness.  A  crooked  thing 
is  wayward :  and,  being  laid  to  a  rule, 
answers  it  not,  but  declines  from  it. 
There  is  not,  in  any  body's  lot,  any  such 
thing  as  a  crook,  in  respect  of  the  will 
and  purposes  of  God.  Take  the  most 
harsh  and  dismal  dispensation  in  one's 
lot,  and  lay  it  to  the  eternal  decree,  made 
in  the  depth  of  infinite  wisdom,  before 
the  world  began,  and  it  will  answer  it 
exactly,  without  the  least  deviation,  all 
things  being  wrought  after  the  counsel  of 
his  will.  Eph.  i.  11.  Lay  it  to  the 
providential  will  of  God,  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  world,  and  there  is  a  per- 
fect harmony. — If  Paul  is  to  be  bound 
at  Jerusalem,  and  *  delivered  into  the 
hands  of  the  Gentiles,'  it  is  l  the  will 
of  the  Lord'  it  should  be  so.  Actsxxi. 
11 — 14.  Wherefore  the  greatest  crook 
of  the  lot,  on  earth,  is  straight  in  heaven: 
there  is  no  disagreeableness  in  it  there. 
But  in  every  person's  lot,  there,  is  a  crook 
in  respect  of  their  mind  and  natural  in- 
clination.    The  adverse  dispensation  lies 


14  THE  CROOK  IN   THE  LOT. 

cross  to  that  rule,  and  will  by  no  means 
answer  it,  nor  harmonise  with  it.  When 
Divine  Providence  lays  the  one  to  the 
other,  there  is  a  manifest  disagreeable- 
ness :  the  man's  will  goes  one  way,  and 
the  dispensation  another  way:  the  will 
bends  upwards,  and  cross  events  press 
down  :  so  they  are  contrary.  And  there, 
and  only  there,  lies  the  crook.  It  is  this 
disagreeableness  which  makes  the  crook 
in  the  lot  fit  matter  of  trial  and  exercise 
to  us,  in  this  our  state  of  probation  :  in 
the  which,  if  thou  wouldst  approve  thy- 
self to  God,  walking  by  faith,  not  by 
sight,  thou  must  quiet  thyself  in  the  will 
and  purpose  of  God,  and  not  insist  that 
it  should  be  according  to  thy  mind.  Job 
xxxiv.  33. 

(2.)  Umightlincss  Crooked  things  are 
unpleasant  to  the  eye :  and  no  crook  in 
the  lot  seemeth  to  be  joyous,  but  grievous, 
making  up  an  unsightly  appearance; 
Heb.  xii.  11.  Therefore  men  need  to 
beware  of  giving  way  to  their  thoughts, 
in  dwelling  on  the  crook  in  their  lot,  and 
keeping  it  too  much  in  view.  David 
shews  a  hurtful  experience  of  his,  in  that 
kind,  Psalm   xxxix.   3.     '  While   I  was 


THE  CROOK  IN   THE  LOT.  15 

musing  the  fire  burned.'  Jacob  acted  a 
wiser  part,  called  his  youngest  son  Ben- 
jamin, the  son  of  the  right  hand,  whom 
the  dying  mother  had  named  Benoni, 
the  son  of  my  sorrow ;  by  this  means 
providing,  that  the  crook  in  his  lot  should 
not  be  set  afresh  in  his  view,  on  every 
occasion  of  mentioning  the  name  of  his 
son.  Indeed,  a  Christian  may  safely 
take  a  steady  and  leisurely  view  of  the 
crook  of  his  lot  in  the  light  of  the  holy 
word,  which  represents  it  as  the  disci- 
pline of  the  covenant.  So  faith  will  dis- 
cover a  hidden  sightliness  in  it,  under 
a  very  unsightly  outward  appearance; 
perceiving  the  suitableness  thereof  to 
the  infinite  goodness,  love,  and  wisdom 
of  God,  and  to  the  real  and  most  valu- 
able interests  of  the  party  :  by  which 
means  one  comes  to  take  pleasure,  and 
that  a  most  refined  pleasure,  in  distress. 
2  Cor.  xii.  10.  But  whatever  the  crook 
in  the  lot  be  to  the  eye  of  faith,  it  is  not 
at  all  pleasant  to  the  eye  of  sense. 

(3.)  Unfitness  for  motion.  Solomon 
observes  the  cause  of  the  uneasy  and  un- 
graceful walking  of  the  lame,  Prov.xxvi. 
7.     *  The  legs  of  the  lame  are  not  equal.' 


16  THE  CROOK   IN  THE  LOT. 

This  uneasiness  they  find,  who  are  ex 
ercised  about  the  crook  in  their  lot:  a 
high  spirit  and  a  low  adverse  lot,  makes 
great  difficulty  in  the  Christian  walk. 
There  is  nothing  that  gives  temptation 
more  easy  access,  than  the  crook  in  the 
lot:  nothing  more  apt  to  lead  us  out  of 
the  way.  Therefore,  saith  the  apostle, 
Heb.  xii.  13.  l  Make  straight  paths 
for  your  feet,  lest  that  which  is  lame 
be  turned  out  of  the  way.'  They  are  to 
be  pitied,  then,  who  are  labouring  under 
it,  and  not  be  rigidly  censured ;  though 
they  are  rare  persons  who  learn  this 
lesson,  till  taught  by  their  own  expe- 
rience. It  is  long  since  Job  made  an  ob- 
servation in  this  case,  which  holds  good 
unto  this  day,  Job  xii.  5.  '  He  that  is 
ready  to  slip  with  his  feet,  is  as  a  lamp 
despised  in  the  thought  of  him  that  is  at 
ease. 

(4.)  '  Aptness  to  catch  hold  and  en- 
tangle, like  hooks,  fish-hooks?'  Amos 
iv.  2.  The  crook  in  the  lot  doth  so  very 
readily  make  impression,  to  the  ruffling 
and  fretting  one's  spirit,  irritating  cor- 
ruption, that  Satan  fails  not  to  make 
diligent  use  of  it  to  these  dangerous  pur- 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  17 

poses ;  the  which  point  once  gained  by  the 
tempter,  the  tempted,  ere  he  is  aware, 
finds  himself  entangled  as  in  a  thicket, 
out  of  which  he  knows  not  how  to  ex- 
tricate himself.  In  that  temptation  it 
often  proves  like  a  crooked  stick,  trou- 
bling a  standing  pool,  the  which  not  only 
raiseth  up  the  mud  all  over,  but  brings 
up  from  the  bottom  some  very  ugly  thing. 
Thus  it  brought  up  a  spice  of  blasphemy 
and  atheism  in  Asaph's  case,  Psal.  lxxiii. 
13.  'Verily  I  have  cleansed  my  heart 
in  vain,  and  washed  my  hands  in  in- 
nocence :'  As  if  he  had  said,  there  is 
nothing  at  all  in  religion,  it  is  a  vain  and 
empty  thing,  that  profiteth  nothing ;  I 
was  a  fool  to  have  been  in  care  about 
purity  and  holiness,  whether  of  heart  or 
life.  Ah!  is  this  the  pious  Asaph!  How 
is  he  turned  so  quite  unlike  himself! 
but  the  crook  in  the  lot  is  the  handle, 
whereby  the  tempter  makes  surprising 
discoveries  of  latent  corruption  even  in 
the  best. 

This  is  the  nature  of  the  crook  in  the 
lot;  let  us  now  observe  what  part  of  the 
lot  it  falls  in.  Three  conclusions  may  be 
established  upon  this  head. 


18  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

1st,  It  may  fall  in  any  part  of  the 
lot ;  there  is  no  exempted  one  in  the  case  : 
for  sin  being  found  in  every  part,  the 
crook  may  take  place  in  any  part.  Being 
1  all  as  an  unclean  thing,  we  may  all 
fade  as  a  leaf/  Isai.  lxiv.  6.  The  main 
stream  of  sin,  which  the  crook  readily 
follows,  runs  in  very  different  channels, 
in  the  case  of  different  persons.  And 
in  regard  of  the  various  dispositions  of 
the  minds  of  men,  that  will  prove  a  sink- 
ing weight  unto  one,  which  another'would 
go  very  lightly  under. 

Idly,  It  may  at  once  fall  in  many  parts 
of  the  lot,  the  Lord  calling,  as  in  a 
solemn  day,  one's  terrors  round  about, 
Lam.  ii.  22.  Sometimes  God  makes  one 
notable  crook  in  a  man's  lot ;  but  its 
name  may  be  Gad,  being  but  the  fore- 
runner of  a  troop  which  cometh. — Then 
the  crooks  are  multiplied,  so  that  the 
party  is  made  to  halt  on  each  side. 
While  one  stream,  let  in  from  one  quar- 
ter, is  running  full  against  him,  another 
is  let  in  on  him  from  another  quarter, 
till  in  the  end  the  waters  break  in  on 
every  hand. 

'6dly}  It  often  falls  in  the  tender  part ; 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  19 

I  mean,  that  part  of  the  lot  wherein  we 
are  least  able  to  bear  it,  or,  at  least  think 
so.  Psal.  Iv.  12,  13.  'It  was  not  an 
enemy  that  reproached  me,  then  I  could 
have  borne  it.  But  it  was  thou,  a  man 
mine  equal,  my  guide,  and  mine  ac- 
quaintance.' If  there  is  any  one  part  of 
the  lot  in  which,  of  all  others,  a  person 
is  disposed  to  nestle,  the  thorn  will  readily 
be  laid  there,  especially  if  he  belongs 
to  God ;  in  that  thing  wherein  he  is 
least  of  all  able  to  be  touched,  he  will 
be  sure  to  be  pressed.  There  the  trial 
will  be  taken  of  him  ;  for  there  is  the 
grand  competition  with  Christ.  '  I  take 
from  them  the  desires  of  their  eyes,  and 
that  whereupon  they  set  their  minds/ 
Ezek.  xxiv.  25.  Since  the  crook  in  the 
lot  is  the  special  trial  appointed  for  every 
one,  it  is  altogether  reasonable,  and  be- 
coming the  wisdom  of  God,  that  it  fall 
on  that  which  of  all  things  doth  most  rival 
him. 

But  more  particularly  the  crook  may 
be  observed  to  fall  in  these  four  parts  of 
the  lot. 

First,  In  the  natural  part,  affecting  per- 
c2 


20  THE    CROOK    19    THE    LOT. 

sons  considered  as  of  the  make  allotted 
for  them  by  the  great  God  that  formed  all 
things.  The  parents  of  mankind,  Adam 
and  Eve,  were  formed  altogether  sound 
and  entire,  without  the  least  blemish, 
whether  in  soul  or  body;  but  in  the  for- 
mation of  their  posterity,  there  often  ap- 
pears a  notable  variation  from  the  ori- 
ginal. Bodily  defects,  superfluities,  de- 
formities, infirmities,  natural  or  accidental, 
make  the  crook  in  the  lot  of  some  :  they 
have  something  unsightly  or  grievous 
about  them.  Crooks  of  this  kind  more 
or  less  observable,  are  very  common  and 
ordinary,  the  best  not  exempted  from 
them  ;  and  it  is  purely  owing  to  sovereign 
pleasure  they  are  not  more  numerous. 
Tender  eyes  made  the  crook  in  the  lot  of 
Leah,  Rachel's  beauty  was  balanced  with 
barrenness.  Paul,  the  great  Apostle  of  the 
Gentiles,  was,  it  should  seem,  no  person- 
able man,  but  of  a  mean  outward  appear- 
ance, for  which  fools  were  apt  to  contemn 
him,  2  Cor.  x.  10.  Timothy  was  of  a  crazy 
frame,  weakly  and  sickly,  1  Tim.  v.  23. 
And  there  is  a  yet  far  more  considerable 
crook  in  the  lot  of  the  lame,  the  blind, 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  21 

the  deaf,  and  the  dumb.  Some  are  weak 
to  a  degree  in  their  intellectuals;  and  it  is 
the  crook  in  the  lot  of  several  bright  souls 
to  be  overcast  with  clouds,  notably  be- 
misted  and  darkened,  from  the  crazy 
bodies  they  are  lodged  in;  an  eminent 
instance  whereof  we  have  in  the  grave, 
wise,  and  patient  Job,  '  going  mourning 
without  the  sun;  yea,  standing  up  and 
crying  in  the  congregation,'  Job  xxx.  28. 
Secondly,  It  may  fall  in  the  honorary 
part.  There  is  an  honour  due  to  all  men, 
the  small  as  well  as  the  great,  1  Pet.  ii. 
17,  and  that  upon  the  ground  of  the 
original  constitution  of  human  nature,  as 
it  was  framed  in  the  image  of  God.  But, 
in  the  sovereign  disposal  of  holy  provi- 
dence, the  crook  in  the  lot  of  some  falls 
here;  they  are  neglected  and  slighted; 
their  credit  is  still  kept  low :  they  go 
through  the  world  under  a  cloud,  being 
put  into  an  ill  name,  their  reputation 
sunk.  This  sometimes  is  the  native  con- 
sequence of  their  own  foolish  and  sinful 
conduct ;  as  in  the  case  of  Dinah,  who, 
by  her  gadding  abroad  to  satisfy  her 
youthful  curiosity,  regardless  of,  and 
therefore   not  waiting  for  a  providential 


22  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

call,  brought  a  lasting  stain  on  her  ho- 
nour, Gen.  xxxiv.  But,  where  the  Lord 
intends  a  crook  of  this  kind  in  one's  lot, 
innocence  will  not  be  able  to  ward  it  off 
in  an  ill-natured  world;  neither  will  true 
merit  be  able  to  make  head  against  it, 
to  make  one's  lot  stand  straight  in  that 
part.  Thus  David  represents  his  case, 
Psal.  xxxi.  11,  12,  13.  'They  that  did 
see  me  without,  fled  from  me:  I  am  for- 
gotten as  a  dead  man  out  of  mind  :  I  am 
like  a  broken  vessel.  For  I  have  heard 
the  slander  of  many/ 

Thirdly ,  It  may  fall  in  the  vocational 
part.  Whatever  is  man's  calling  or  sta- 
tion in  the  world,  be  it  sacred  or  civil,  the 
crook  in  their  lot  may  take  its  place  there- 
in. Isaiah  was  an  eminent  prophet,  but 
most  unsuccessful,  Isai.  liii.  1.  Jeremiah 
met  with  such  a  train  of  discouragements 
and  ill  usage  in  the  exercise  of  his  sacred 
function,  that  he  was  well  near  giving  it 
up,  saying,  '  I  will  not  make  mention  of 
him,  nor  speak  any  more  in  his  name/ 
Jer.  xx.  9.  The  Psalmist  observes  this 
crook  often  to  be  made  in  the  lot  of  some 
men  very  industrious  in  their  civil  busi- 
ness, who  sow  the  fields — and  at  times  God 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  23 

blesseth  them — *  and  suffereth  not  their 
cattle  to  decrease  :'  But  again,  they  are 
minished  andbrought  low  through  oppres- 
sion, affliction,  and  sorrow,  Psal.cvii.  37 
— 39.  Such  a  crook  was  made  in  Job's 
lot  after  he  had  long  stood  even.  Some 
manage  their  employments  with  all  care 
and  diligence;  the  husbandman  carefully 
labouring  his  ground ;  the  sheep-master 
diligent  to  know  the  state  '  of  his  flocks, 
and  looking  well  to  his  herds;'  the  trades- 
man, early  and  late  at  his  business;  the 
merchant  diligently  plying  his,  watching 
and  falling  in  with  the  most  fair  and  promis- 
ing opportunities ;  but  there  is  such  a  crook 
in  that  part  of  their  lot,  as  all  they  are  able 
to  do  can  by  no  means  even.  For  why  ? 
The  most  proper  means  used  for  com- 
passing an  end  are  insignificant  without 
a  word  of  divine  appointment  command- 
ing their  success.  *  Who  is  he  that  saith, 
and  it  cometh  to  pass,  when  the  Lora 
commandeth  it  not?'  Lam.  iii.  27.  Peo- 
ple ply  their  business  with  skill  and  in- 
dustry, but  the  wind  turns  in  their  face. 
Providence  crosseth  their  enterprises,  dis- 
concerts their  measures,  frustrates  their 
hopes  and  expectations,  renders  their  en- 


24  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

deavours  unsuccessful,  and  so  puts  and 
keeps  them  still  in  straitening  circum- 
stances. '  So  the  race  is  not  to  the  swift, 
nor  the  battle  to  the  strong,  neither  yet 
bread  to  the  wise/  Eccl.  ix.  12.  Provi- 
dence interposing,  crooks  the  measures 
which  human  prudence  and  industry  had 
laid  straight  towards  the  respective  ends; 
so  the  swift  lose  the  race,  and  the  strong 
the  battle,  and  the  wise  miss  of  bread  ; 
while,  in  the  mean  time,  some  one  or 
other  providential  incident,  supplying  the 
defect  of  human  wisdom,  conduct,  and 
ability,  the  slow  gain  the  race,  and  carry 
the  prize;  the  weak  win  the  battle,  and 
enrich  themselves  with  the  spoil;  and  the 
bread  falls  into  the  lap  of  the  fool. 

Lastly,  It  may  fall  on  the  relational 
part.  Relations  are  the  joints  of  society  ; 
and  there  the  crook  in  the  lot  may  take 
place,  one's  smartest  pain  being  often  felt 
in  these  joints.  They  are  in  their  nature 
the  springs  of  man's  comfort;  yet,  they 
often  turn  the  greatest  bitterness  to  him. 
Sometimes  this  crook  is  occasioned  by  the 
loss  of  relations.  Thus  a  crook  was  made 
in  the  lot  of  Jacob,  by  means  of  the  death 
of  Rachel,  his  beloved  wife,  aud  the  loss 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  25 

of  Joseph,  his  son  and  darling,  which  had 
like  to  have  made  him  go  halting  to  the 
grave.  Job  laments  this  crook  in  his  lot, 
chap.  xvi.  7.  '  Thou  hast  made  desolate 
all  my  company;'  meaning  his  dear  chil- 
dren, every  one  of  whom  he  had  laid  in 
the  grave,  not  so  much  as  one  son  or 
daughter  left  him.  Again;  sometimes  it 
is  made  through  the  afflicting  hand  of 
God  lying  heavy  on  them :  the  which,  in 
virtue  of  the  relation,  recoils  on  the  party, 
as  is  feelingly  expressed  by  that  believing 
woman,  Matth.  xv.  22.  '  Have  mercy  on 
me,  O  Lord ;  my  daughter  is  grievously 
vexed.'  Ephraim  felt  the  smart  of  a  course 
of  afflictions,  '  when  he  called  his  son's 
name  Beriah,  because  it  went  evil  with 
his  house,'  1  Chron.vii.  23.  Since  all  is 
not  only  vanity,  but  vexation  of  spirit, 
it  can  hardly  miss,  but  the  more  of  these 
springs  of  comfort  are  opened  to  a  man, 
he  must,  at  one  time  or  other,  find  he  has 
but  the  more  sources  of  sorrow  to  gush 
out  and  spring  in  upon  him;  the  sorrow 
always  proportioned  to  the  comfort  found 
in  them,  or  expected  from  them.  And, 
finally,  the  crook  is  sometimes  made  by 
their  proving  uncomfortable  through  the 


26  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

disagreeableness  of  their  temper,  dispo- 
sition, and  way.  There  was  a  crook  in 
Job's  lot,  by  means  of  an  undutiful,  ill- 
natured  wife,  Job  xix.  1 7.  In  Abigail's, 
by  means  of  a  surly,  ill-tempered  hus- 
band, 1  Sam.  xxv.  25.  In  Eli's,  through 
the  perverseness  and  obstinacy  of  his  chil- 
dren, chap.  ii.  25.  In  Jonathan's,  through 
the  furious  temper  of  his  father,  chap.  xx. 
30,  33.  So  do  men  oftentimes  find  their 
greatest  cross,  where  they  expected  their 
greatest  comfort.  Sin  hath  unhinged  the 
whole  creation,  and  made  every  relation 
susceptible  of  the  crook.  In  the  family 
are  found  masters  hard  and  unjust,  ser- 
vants froward  and  unfaithful ;  in  a  neigh- 
bourhood, men  selfish  and  uneasy ;  in  the 
church,  ministers  unedifying,  and  offen- 
sive in  their  walk,  and  people  contemp- 
tuous and  disorderly,  a  burden  to  the 
spirits  of  ministers ;  in  the  state,  magis- 
trates oppressive,  and  discountenancers 
of  that  which  is  good,  and  subjects  turbu- 
lent and  seditious;  all  these  cause  crooks 
in  the  lot  of  their  relatives.  And  thus 
far  of  the  crook  itself. 

II.  Having  seen  the  crook  itself,  we 
are,  in  the  next  place,  to  consider  God's 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  27 

making  it.  And  here  is  to  be  shewn, 
1.  That  it  is  of  God's  making.  2.  How  it 
is  of  his  making.     3.  Why  he  makes  it. 

First,  That  the  crook  in  the  lot,  what- 
ever it  is,  is  of  God's  making,  appears 
from  these  three  considerations. 

First,  It  cannot  be  questioned,  but  the 
crook  in  the  lot,  considered  as  a  crook,  is 
a  penal  evil,  whatever  it  is  for  the  matter 
thereof;  that  is,  whether  the  thing  in  it- 
self, its  immediate  cause  and  occasion,  be 
sinful  or  not,  it  is  certainly  a  punishment 
or  affliction.  Now,  as  it  may  be,  as  such, 
holily  and  justly  brought  on  us,  by  our 
Sovereign  Lord  and  Judge,  so  he  ex- 
pressly claims  the  doing  or  making  of  it, 
Amos  iii.  6.  '  Shall  there  be  evil  in  a 
city,  and  the  Lord  has  not  done  it?' 
Wherefore,  since  there  can  be  no  penal 
evil,  but  of  God's  making,  and  the  crook 
in  the  lot  is  such  an  evil,  it  is  necessarily 
concluded  to  be  of  God's  making. 

Secondly,  It  is  evident,  from  the  scrip- 
ture doctrine  of  divine  providence,  that 
God  brings  about  every  man's  lot,  and  all 
the  parts  thereof.  He  sits  at  the  helm  of 
human  affairs,  and  turns  them  about 
whithersoever  he  listeth.     *  Whatsoever 


28  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

the  Lord  pleased,  that  did  he  in  heaven 
and  earth,  in  the  seas,  and  all  deep  places/ 
Psal.  cxxxv.  6.  There  is  not  any  thing 
whatsoever  befals  us,  without  his  over- 
ruling hand.  The  same  providence  that 
brought  us  out  of  the  womb,  bringeth  us 
to,  and  fixeth  us  in,  the  condition  and 
place  allotted  for  us,  by  him  who  '  hath 
determined  the  times  and  bounds  of  our 
habitation/  Acts  xvii.  26.  It  over-rules 
the  smallest  and  most  casual  things  about 
us,  even  the  hairs  of  our  head,  Matth. 
x.  29,  30.  '  The  lot  cast  into  the  lap/ 
Prov.  xvi.  33,  Yea,  the  free  acts  of  our 
will,  whereby  we  choose  for  ourselves, 
for  even  '  the  king's  heart  is  in  the  hand 
of  the  Lord,  as  the  rivers  of  water/ 
Prov.  xxi.  1 .  And  the  whole  steps  we 
make,  and  which  others  make  in  re- 
ference to  us ;  for  '  the  way  of  man  is 
not  in  himself;  it  is  not  in  man  that 
walketh  to  direct  his  steps/  Jer.  x.  23. 
And  this,  whether  these  steps  causing 
the  crook  be  deliberate  and  sinful  ones, 
such  as  Joseph's  brethren  selling  him 
into  Egypt ;  or  whether  they  be  un- 
designed, such  as  man-slaughter  purely 
casual,  as  when  one  hewing  wood,  kills 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  29 

his  neighbour  with  *  the  head  of  the  axe 
slipping  from  the  helve/  Deut.  xix.  5. 
For  there  is  a  holy  and  wise  providence 
that  governs  the  sinful  and  the  heedless 
actions  of  men,  as  a  rider  doth  a  lame 
horse,  of  whose  halting,  not  he,  but  the 
horse's  lameness,  is  the  true  and  proper 
cause ;  wherefore  in  the  former  of  these 
cases,  God  is  said  to  have  sent  Joseph 
into  Egypt,  Gen.  xlv.  7,  and  in  the  latter, 
to  deliver  one  into  his  neighbour's  hand, 
Exod.  xxi.  13. 

Lastly,  God  hath,  by  an  eternal  de- 
cree, immoveable  as  mountains  of  brass, 
Zech.  vi.  1,  appointed  the  whole  of  every 
one's  lot,  the  crooked  parts  thereof,  as 
well  as  the  straight.  By  the  same  eternal 
decree,  whereby  the  high  and  low  parts 
of  the  earth,  the  mountains  and  the  vallies, 
were  appointed,  are  the  heights  and  the 
depths,  the  prosperity  and  adversity,  in 
the  lot  of  the  inhbaitants,  thereof  deter- 
mined ;  and  they  are  brought  about,  in 
time,  in  a  perfect  agreeableness  thereto. 

The  mystery  of  providence,  in  the  go- 
vernment of  the  world,  is,  in  all  the  parts 
thereof,  the  building  reared  up  of  God, 
in  exact  conformity  to  the  plan  in  his  de- 


30  THE    CROOK    IN    IHE    LOT. 

cree,  '  who  worketh  all  things  after  the 
counsel  of  his  own  will.7  Eph.  i.  11.  So 
that  there  is  never  a  crook  in  one's  lot, 
but  may  be  run  up  to  this  original.  Here- 
of Job  piously  sets  us  an  example  in  his 
own  case,  Job  xxiii.  12,  14.  '  He  is  in 
one  mind,  and  who  can  turn  him?  And 
what  his  soul  desireth,  even  that  he  doth. 
For  he  performeth  the  thing  that  is  ap- 
pointed for  me ;  and  many  such  things 
are  with  him.' 

Secondly,  That  we  may  see  how  the 
crook  in  the  lot  is  of  God's  making,  we 
must  distinguish  between  pure  sinless 
crooks,  and  impure  sinful  ones. 

First,  There  are  pure  and. unless  crooks  ; 
the  wihch  are  mere  afflictions,  cleanly 
crosses,  grievous  indeed,  but  not  defiling. 
Such  were  Lazarus's  poverty,  Rachel's 
barrenness,  Leah's  tender  eyes,  the  blind- 
ness of  the  man  who  had  been  so  from 
his  birth,  John  lix.  1.  Now,  the  crooks 
of  this  kind  are  of  God's  making,  by  the 
efficacy  of  his  power  directly  bringing 
them  to  pass,  and  causing  them  to  be.  He 
is  the  maker  of  the  poor,  Prov.  xvii.  5. 
'  Whoso  mocketh  the  poor,  reproacheth 
his  Maker;'  that  is,  reproacheth  God  who 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  31 

made  him  poor,  according  to  that,  1  Sam. 
ii.  7.  '  The  Lord  maketh  poor.'  It  is  he 
that  hath  the  keys  of  the  womb,  and  as  he 
sees  meet  shuts  it,  1  Sam.  i.  5,  or  opens 
it,  Gen.  xxix.  31.  And  it  is  'he  that 
formeth  the  eyes/  Psal.  xciv.9.  And  the 
man  was  c  born  blind,  that  the  works  of 
God  should  be  made  manifest  in  him,7 
John  ix.  3.  Therefore  he  saith  to  Moses, 
Exod.  iv.  11.  *  Who  maketh  the  dumb, 
or  deaf,  or  the  seeing,  or  the  blind  ?  Have 
not  I,  the  Lord  ?'  Such  crooks  in  the  lot 
are  of  God's  making,  in  the  most  ample 
sense,  and  in  their  full  comprehension, 
being  the  direct  effects  of  his  agency,  as 
well  as  the  heavens  and  the  earth  are. 

Secondly,  There  are  impure  sinful  crooks, 
which,  in  their  own  nature,  are  sins  as 
well  as  afflictions,  defiling  as  well  as 
grievous.  Such  was  the  crook  made  in 
David's  lot,  through  his  family  disorders, 
the  defiling  of  Tamar,  the  murder  of  Am- 
non,  the  rebellion  of  Absalom,  all  of  them 
unnatural.  Of  the  same  kind  was  that 
made  in  Job's  lot  by  the  Sabeans  and 
Chaldeans,  taking  away  his  substance  and 
slaying  his  servants.  As  these  were  the 
afflictions  of  David  and  Job  respectively, 


32  THE    CROOK    JN    THE    LOT. 

so  they  were  the  sins  of  the  actors,  the 
unhappy  instruments  thereof.  Thus  one 
and  the  same  thing  may  be,  to  one  a  hei- 
nous sin,  defiling  and  laying  him  under 
guilt,  and  to  another  an  affliction,  laying 
him  under  suffering  only.  Now,  the  crooks 
of  this  kind  are  not  of  God's  making,  in 
the  same  latitude  as  those  of  the  former: 
Fot  he  neither  puts  evil  in  the  heart  of 
any,  nor  stirreth  up  to  it:  '  He  cannot  be 
tempted  with  evil,  neither  tempteth  he  any 
man,7  James  i.  13.  But  they  are  of  his 
making,  by  his  holy  permission  of  them, 
powerful  bounding  of  them,  and  wise  over- 
ruling of  them  to  some  good  end. 

1st,  He  holily  permits  them,  suffering 
men  '  to  walk  in  their  own  ways/  Acts 
xiv.  16.  Though  he  is  not  the  author  of 
those  sinful  crooks,  causing  them  to  be  by 
the  efficacy  of  his  power:  yet  if  he  did  not 
permit  them,  willing  not  to  hinder  them, 
they  could  not  be  at  all:  for '  he  shutteth, 
and  no  man  openeth,'  Rev. hi.  7.  Buthe 
justly  withholds  his  grace  which  the  sinner 
doth  not  desire,  takes  off  the  restraint 
under  which  he  is  uneasy,  and  since  the 
sinner  will  be  gone,  lays  the  reins  on  his 
neck,  and  leaves  him  to  the  swing  of  his 


J II E    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  33 

lust.  Hos.  iv.  17.  '  Ephraim  is  joined  to 
idols;  let  him  alone/  Psal.lxxxi.  11,12. 
i  Israel  would  none  of  me :  So  I  gave 
them  up  to  their  own  hearts'  lust.'  In 
which  unhappy  situation  the  sinful  crook 
doth,  from  the  sinner's  own  proper  motion, 
naturally  and  infallibly  follow;  even  as 
water  runs  down  a  hill,  wherever  there  is 
a  gap  left  open  before  it.  So  in  these  cir- 
cumstances, '  Israel  walked  in  their  own 
counsels.'  And  thus  this  kind  of  crook 
is  of  God's  making,  as  a  just  Judge, 
punishing  the  sufferer  by  it.  The  which 
view  of  the  matter  silenced  David  under 
Shimei's  cursings,  2  Sam.  xv.  10.  '  Let 
him  alone,  and  let  him  curse,  for  the  Lord 
hath  bidden  him.' 

2d(y,  He  powerfully  bounds  them,  Psal. 
lxxvi.  10.  '  The  remainder  of  wrath'  (viz. 
the  creature's  wrath)  '  thou  shalt  restrain.' 
Did  not  God  bound  these  crooks,  howso- 
ever sore  they  are  in  any  one's  case,  they 
would  be  yet  sorer:  But  he  says  to  the 
sinful  instrument,  as  he  said  to  the  sea, 
*  hitherto  shalt  thou  come,  but  no  farther; 
and  here  shall  thy  proud  waves  be  stayed.' 
He  lays  a  restraining  hand  on  him,  that 
he  cannot  go  one  step  farther,  in  the  way 

D 


34  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

his  impetuous  lust  drives,  than  he  sees 
meet  to  permit.  Hence  it  comes  to  pass, 
that  the  crook  of  this  kind  is  neither  more 
nor  less,  but  just  as  great  as  he  by  his 
powerful  bounding  makes  it  to  be.  An 
eminent  instance  hereof  we  have  in  the 
case  of  Job,  whose  lot  was  crooked  through 
a  peculiar  agency  of  the  devil ;  but  even 
to  that  grand  sinner,  God  set  a  bound 
in  the  case;  '  The  Lord  said  unto  Satau, 
Behold  all  that  he  hath  is  in  thy  power, 
only  upon  himself  put  not  forth  thine 
hand/  Job  i.  12.  Now,  Satan  went  the 
full  length  of  the  bound,  leaving  nothing 
within  the  compass  thereof  untouched, 
which  he  saw  could  make  for  his  purpose, 
ver.  18,  19.  But  he  could  by  no  means 
move  one  step  beyond  it,  to  carry  his 
point,  which  he  could  not  gain  within  it. 
And  therefore,  to  make  the  trial  greater, 
and  the  crook  sorer,  nothing  remained  but 
that  the  bound  set  should  be  removed, 
and  the  sphere  of  his  agency  enlarged  ; 
for  which  cause  he  saith,  '  But  touch  his 
bone  and  his  flesh,  and  he  will  curse  thee 
to  thy  face/  chap.  ii.  5.  and  it  being  re- 
moved accordingly,  but  withal  a  new  one 
set,  ver.  6.  '  Behold  he  is  in  thine  hand, 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  35 

but  save  his  life;'  the  crook  was  carried 
to  the  utmost  that  the  new  bound  would 
permit,  in  a  consistency  with  his  design 
of  bringing  Job  to  blaspheme ;  '  Satan 
smote  him  with  sore  boils,  from  the  sole 
of  his  foot  unto  the  crown  of  his  head,' 
ver.  7.  And  had  it  not  been  for  this 
bound,  securing  Job's  life,  he,  after  find- 
ing this  attempt  successless  too,  had 
doubtless  dispatched  him  for  good  and 
all. 

3dly,  He  wisely  over-rules  them  to  some 
good  purpose,  becoming  the  divine  per- 
fections. While  the  sinful  instrument 
hath  an  ill  design  in  the  crook  caused  by 
him,  God  directs  to  a  hoiy  and  good  end. 
In  the  disorders  of  David's  family,  Am- 
non's  design  was  to  gratify  a  brutish  lust; 
Absalom's,  to  glut  himself  with  revenge, 
and  to  satisfy  his  pride  and  ambition  ;  buf 
God  meant  thereby  to  punish  David  for 
his  sin  in  the  matter  of  Uriah.  In  the 
crook  made  in  Job's  lot,  by  Satan,  and  the 
Sabeans  and  Chaldeans,  his  instruments, 
Satan's  design  was  to  cause  Job  to  blas- 
pheme, and  their's  to  gratify  their  covet- 
ousness :  but  God  had  another  design 
therein  becoming  himself,  namely,  to  ma- 
d  2 


36  THE    CROOK    IN   THE    LOT. 

riifest  Job's  sincerity  and  uprightness. 
Did  not  he  wisely  and  powerfully  over- 
rule these  crooks  made  in  men's  lot,  no 
gocd  could  come  out  of  them;  but  he  al- 
ways over-rules  them  so  as  to  fulfil  his 
own  holy  purposes  thereby,  howbeit  the 
sinner  meaneth  not  so;  for  his  designs 
cannot  miscarry,  his  <  counsel  shall  stand/ 
Tsai.xlvi.  10.  So  the  sinful  crook  is,  by 
the  over-ruling  hand  of  God,  turned  about 
to  his  own  glory,  and  his  people's  good 
in  the  end  ;  according  to  the  word,  Prov. 
xvi.  4.  'The  Lord  hath  made  all  things 
for  himself.'  Rom.viii.  28.  '  All  things 
work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God.'  Thus  Haman's  plot  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Jews  '  was  turned  to  the  con- 
trary,' Esth.  ix.  1.  And  the  crook  made 
in  Joseph's  lot,  by  his  own  brethren  sell- 
ing him  into  Egypt,  though  it  was  on  their 
part  most  sinful,  and  of  a  most  mischiev- 
ous design ;  yet,  as  it  was  of  God's  mak- 
ing, by  his  holy  permission,  powerful 
bounding,  and  wise  over-ruling  of  it,  had 
an  issue  well  becoming  the  divine  wisdom 
and  goodness :  both  of  which  Joseph  no- 
ticeth  to  them,  Gen.  1.  20.  '  As  for  you, 
ye  thought   evil  against  me;    but  God 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  37 

meant  it  into  good,  to  bring  to  pass,  as  it 
is  this  day,  to  save  much  people  alive.' 

Thirdly,  It  remains  to  enquire,  Why 
God  makes  a  crook  in  one's  lot  ?  And  this 
is  to  be  cleared  by  discovering  the  design 
of  that  dispensation :  a  matter  which  it 
concerns  everyone  toknow,and  carefully 
to  notice,  in  order  to  a  Christian  improve- 
ment of  the  crook  in  their  lot.  The  de- 
sign thereof  seems  to  be,  chiefly,  seven- 
fold. 

First,  The  trial  of  one's  state t  Whether 
one  is  in  the  state  of  grace  or  not  ?  Whe- 
ther a  sincere  Christian,  or  a  hypocrite? 
Though  every  affliction  is  trying,  yet  here 
I  conceive  lies  the  main  providential  trial 
a  man  is  brought  upon,  with  reference  to 
his  state,  forasmuch  as  the  crook  in  the  lot, 
being  a  matter  of  a  continued  course,  one 
has  occasion  to  open  and  show  himself 
again  and  again  in  the  same  thing;  whence 
it  comes  to  pass,  that  it  ministers  ground 
for  a  decision,  in  that  momentous  point. 
It  was  plainly  on  this  bottom  that  the  trial 
of  Job's  state  was  put.  The  question  was, 
whether  Job  was  an  upright  and  sincere 
servant  of  God,  as  God  himself  testified 
of  him  ;  or  but  a  mercenary  one,  a  hypo- 


38  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

crite,  as  Satan  alleged  against  him?  And 
the  trial  hereof  was  put  upon  the  crook  to 
be  made  in  his  lot,  Job  i.  8 — 12.  and  ii. 
3  —  6.  Accordingly,  that  which  all  his 
friends,  save  Elihu,  the  last  speaker,  did, 
in  their  reasoning  with  him  under  his  trial, 
aim  at,  was  to  prove  him  a  hypocrite  ;  Sa- 
tan thus  making  use  of  these  good  men 
for  gaining  his  point.  As  God  took  trial 
of  Israel  in  the  wilderness,  for  the  land  of 
Canaan,  by  a  train  of  afflicting  dispensa- 
tions, the  which  Caleb  and  Joshua  bearing 
strenuously,  were  declared  meet  to  enter 
the  promised  land,  as  having  followed  the 
Lord  fully ;  while  others  being  tired  out 
with  them,  their  carcasses  fell  in  the  wil- 
derness; so  he  makes  trial  of  men  for 
heaven,  by  the  crook  in  their  lot.  If  one 
can  stand  that  test,  he  is  manifested  to  be 
a  saint,  a  sincere  servant  of  God,  as  Job 
was  proved  to  be ;  if  not,  he  is  but  a 
hypocrite :  he  cannot  stand  the  test  of  the 
crook  in  his  lot,  but  goes  away  like  dross 
in  God's  furnace.  A  melancholy  instance 
of  which  we  have  in  that  man  of  honour 
and  wealth,  who,  with  high  pretences  of 
religion,  arising  from  a  principle  of  moral 
seriousness,  addressed  himself  to  our  Sa- 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  39 

viour,  to  know  '  what  he  should  do  that 
he  might  inherit  eternal  life,'  Mark  x. 
17,21.  Our  Saviour,  to  discover  the  man 
to  himself,  makes  a  crook  in  his  lot,  where 
all  along  before  it  had  stood  even,  obliging 
him,  by  a  probatory  command,  to  sell  and 
give  away  all  that  he  had,  and  follow 
him.  '  Sell  whatsoever  thou  hast,  and 
give  to  the  poor,  and  come  take  up  the 
cross  and  follow  me/  Hereby  he  was, 
that  moment,  in  the  court  of  conscience, 
stript  of  his  great  possessions ;  so  that 
thenceforth  he  could  no  longer  keep  them, 
with  a  good  conscience,  as  he  might  have 
done  before.  The  man  instantly  felt  the 
smart  of  this  crook  made  in  his  lot ;  '  he 
was  sad  at  that  saying/  that  is,  imme- 
diately upon  the  hearing  of  it,  being 
struck  with  pain,  disorder,  and  confusion 
of  mind,  his  countenance  changed,  became 
cloudy  and  louring,  as  the  same  word  is 
used,  Matth.  xvi.  3.  He  could  not  stand 
the  test  of  that  crook  ;  he  could  by  no 
means  submit  his  lot  to  God  in  that  point, 
but  behoved  to  have  it,  at  any  rate,  ac- 
cording to  his  own  mind.  So  he,  '  went 
away  grieved,  for  he  had  great  posses- 
sions/   He  went  away  from  Christ  back 


40  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

to  his  plentiful  estate,  and  though  with  a 
pained  and  sorrowful  heart,  sat  him  down 
again  on  it  a  violent  possessor  before  the 
Lord,  thwarting  the  divine  order.  And 
there  is  no  appearance  that  ever  this  order 
was  revoked,  nor  that  ever  he  came  to  a 
better  temper  in  reference  thereunto. 

Secondly,  Excitation  to  duty,  weaning 
one  from  this  world,  and  prompting  him 
to  look  after  the  happiness  of  the  other 
world.  Many  have  been  beholden  to  the 
crook  in  their  lot,  for  that  ever  they  came 
to  themselves,  settled,  and  turned  serious. 
Going  for  a  time  like  a  wild  ass  used  to  the 
wilderness,  scorning  to  be  turned,  their 
foot  hath  slid  in  due  time ;  and  a  crook 
being  hereby  made  in  their  lot,  their  month 
hath  come  wherein  they  have  been  caught, 
Jer.  ii.  24.  Thus  was  the  prodigal  brought 
to  himself,and  obliged  to  entertain  thoughts 
of  returning  unto  his  father,  Luke  xv.  17. 
The  crook  in  their  lot  convinces  them  at 
length  that  here  is  not  their  rest.  Finding 
still  a  pricking  thorn  of  uneasiness,  when- 
soever they  lay  down  their  head  where 
they  would  fainest  take  rest  in  the  crea- 
ture, and  that  they  are  obliged  to  lift  it 
again,  they  are  brought  to  conclude,  there 


THE   CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  41 

is  no  hope  from  that  quarter,  and  begin  to 
cast  about  for  rest  another  way,  so  it  makes 
them  errands  to  God,  which  they  had  not 
before;  forasmuch  as  they  feel  a  need  of 
the  comforts  of  the  other  world,  to  which 
their  mouths  were  out  of  taste,  while  their 
lot  stood  even  to  their  mind.  Wherefore, 
whatever  use  we  make  of  the  crook  in  our 
lot,  the  voice  of  it  is,  Arise  ye,  and  depart, 
this  is  not  your  rest.  And  it  is  surely  that, 
which  of  all  means  of  mortification,  of  the 
afflictive  kind,  doth  most  deaden  a  real 
Christian  to  this  life  and  world. 

Thirdly,  Conviction  of  sin.  As  when 
one  walking  heedlessly  is  suddenly  taken 
ill  of  a  lameness :  his  going  halting  the 
rest  of  his  way  convinceth  him  of  having 
made  a  wrong  step  ;  and  every  new  pain- 
ful step  brings  it  afresh  to  his  mind  :  so 
God  makes  a  crook  in  one's  lot,  to  con- 
vince him  of  some  false  step  he  hath  made, 
or  course  he  hath  taken.  What  the  sinner 
would  otherwise  be  apt  to  overlook,  for- 
get, or  think  light  of,  is  by  this  means  re- 
called to  mind,  set  before  him  as  an  evil 
and  bitter  thing,  and  kept  in  remembrance, 
that  his  heart  may  every  now  and  then 
bleed  for  it  afresh.    Thus,  by  the  crook, 


42  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

men's  sin  finds  them  out  to  their  convic- 
tion, '  as  the  thief  is  ashamed  when  he  is 
found,'  Numb,  xxxii.  23.  Jer.  ii.  26.  The 
which  Joseph's  brethren  do  feelingly  ex- 
press, under  the  crook  made  in  their  lot 
in  Egypt,  Gen.  xliii.  21.  '  We  are  verily 
guilty  concerning  our  brother,'  chap.  xliv. 
16.  '  God  hath  found  out  the  iniquity  of 
thy  servants.'  The  crook  in  the  lot  doth 
usually,  in  its  nature  or  circumstances,  so 
natively  refer  to  the  false  step  or  course, 
that  it  serves  for  a  providential  memorial 
of  it,  bringing  the  sin,  though  of  an  old 
date,  fresh  to  remembrance,  and  for  a 
badge  of  the  sinner's  folly,  in  word  or 
deed,  to  keep  it  ever  before  him.  When 
Jacob  found  Leah,  through  Laban's  un- 
fair dealing,  palmed  upon  him  for  Rachel, 
how  could  he  miss  of  a  stinging  remem- 
brance of  the  cheat  he  had,  seven  years  at 
least  before,  put  on  his  own  father,  pre- 
tending himself  to  be  Esau?  Gen.xxvii. 
19.  How  could  it  miss  of  galling  him 
occasionally  afterwards  during  the  course 
of  the  marriage?  He  had  imposed  on  his 
father  the  younger  brother  for  the  elder, 
and  Laban  imposed  on  him  the  elder  sister 
for  the  younger.    The  dimness  of  Isaac's 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE   LOT.  43 

eyes  favoured  the  former  cheat;  and  the 
darkness  of  the  evening  did  as  much  fa- 
vour the  latter.  So  he  behoved  to  say,  as 
.Adoni-bezek  in  another  case,  Judges  i.  7. 
'  As  I  have  done,  so  God  hath  requited 
me.'  Tn  like  manner,  Rachel  dying  in 
childbirth,  could  hardly  avoid  a  melan- 
choly reflection  on  her  rash  and  passionate 
expression,  '  Give  me  children,  or  else  I 
die.'  Gen.  xxx.  1.  Even  holy  Job  read, 
in  the  crook  of  his  lot,  some  false  steps 
he  had  made  in  his  youth,  many  years 
before,  Job  xiii.  26.  '  Thou  writest  bitter 
things  against  me,  and  makestme  to  pos- 
sess the  iniquities  of  my  youth.' 

Fourthly,  Correction,  or  punishment  for 
sin.  In  nothing  more  than  in  the  crook 
of  the  lot,  is  that  word  verified,  Jer.  ii.  19. 
'Thine  own  wickedness  shall  correct  thee, 
and  thy  backslidings  shall  reprove  thee.' 
God  may,  for  a  time,  wink  at  one's  sin, 
which  afterward  he  will  brand  with  his 
indignation  by  crooking  the  sinner's  lot, 
as  he  did  in  the  case  of  Jacob,  and  of 
Rachel,  mentioned  before.  Though  the 
sin  was  a  passing  action,  or  a  course  of 
no  long  continuance,  the  mark  of  the  di- 
vine displeasure  for  it,  set  on  the  sinner 


44  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

in  the  crook  of  his  lot,  may  pain  him  long 
and  sore,  that  by  repeated  experience  he 
may  know  what  an  evil  and  bitter  thing 
it  was.  David's  killing  Uriah  by  the 
sword  of  the  Ammonites  was  soon  over  ; 
but  for  that  cause  '  the  sword  never  de- 
parted from  his  house/  2  Sam.  xii.  10. 
Gehazi  quickly  obtained  two  bags  of  mo- 
ney from  Naaman,  in  the  way  of  falsehood 
and  lying;  but  as  a  lasting  mark  of  the 
divine  indignation  against  the  profane 
trick,  he  got  withal  a  leprosy  which  clave 
to  him  while  he  lived,  and  to  his  posterity 
after  him,  2  Kings  v.  27.  This  may  be 
the  case,  as  well  where  the  sin  is  pardoned, 
as  to  the  guilt  of  eternal  wrath,  as  where 
it  is  not.  And  one  may  have  confessed 
and  sincerely  repented  of  that  sin,  which 
yet  shall  make  him  go  halting  to  the  grave, 
though  it  cannot  carry  him  to  hell.  A 
man's  person  may  be  accepted  in  the  Be- 
loved, who  yet  hath  a  particular  badge  of 
the  divine  displeasure,  with  his  sin  hung 
upon  him  in  the  crook  of  his  lot,  Psal. 
xcix.  8.  '  Thou  wast  a  God  that  forgavest 
them,  though  thou  tookest  vengeance  on 
their  inventions.' 

Fifthly,  Preventing  of  sin,  Hos.  ii.  6. 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  45 

*  I  will  hedge  up  thy  way  with  thorns, 
and  make  a  wall  that  she  shall  not  find 
her  paths.'  The  crook  in  the  lot  will  rea- 
dily be  found  to  lie  cross  to  some  wrong 
bias  of  the  heart,  which  peculiarly  sways 
with  the  party  :  so  it  is  like  a  thorn-hedge 
or  wall  in  the  way  which  that  bias  inclines 
him  to.  The  defiling  objects  in  the  world 
do  specially  take  and  prove  ensnaring,  as 
they  are  suited  to  the  particular  cast  of 
temper  in  men :  but  by  means  of  the  crook 
in  the  lot,  the  paint  and  varnish  is  worn 
off  the  defiling  object,  whereby  it  loseth 
its  former  taking  appearance :  so  the  fuel 
being  removed,  the  edge  of  corrupt  affec- 
tions is  blunted,  temptation  weakened, 
and  much  sin  prevented ;  the  sinner  after 
'  gadding  about  so  much  to  change  his 
way,  returning  ashamed.'  Jer.  ii.  36,  37. 
Thus  the  Lord  crooks  one's  lot  that  he 
may  withdraw  man  from  his  purpose,  and 
hide  pride  from  men  :'  And  so  '  he  keep- 
eth  back  his  soul  from  the  pit.'  Job  xxxiii. 
17,18.  Everyone  knows  what  is  most 
pleasant  to  him ;  but  God  alone  knows 
what  is  the  most  profitable.  As  all  men 
are  liars,  so  all  men  are  fools  too:  He 
is  the  only  wise   God,  Jude  25.     Many 


46  THE    CROOK    IS    THE    LOT. 

are  obliged  to  the  crook  in  their  lot,  that 
they  go  not  to  those  excesses,  which  their 
vain  minds  and  corrupt  affections  would 
with  full  sail  carry  them  to  ;  and  they 
would  from  their  hearts  bless  God  for 
making  it,  if  they  did  but  calmly  consider 
what  would  most  probably  be  the  issue  of 
the  removal  thereof.  When  one  is  in 
hazard  of  fretting  under  the  hardship  of 
bearing  the  crook,  he  would  do  well  to 
consider  what  condition  he  is  as  yet  in, 
for  to  bear  its  removal  in  a  Christian 
manner. 

Sixthly,  Discovery  of  the  latent  corrup- 
tion, whether  in  saints  or  sinners.  There 
are  some  corruptions  in  every  man's  heart, 
which  lie,  as  it  were,  so  near  the  surface, 
that  they  are  ready  on  every  turn  to  cast 
up  ;  but  then  there  are  others  also  which 
lie  so  very  deep,  that  they  are  scarcely 
observed  at  all.  But  as  the  fire  under  the 
pot  makes  the  scum  to  cast  up,  appear 
at  top,  and  run  over;  so  the  crook  in  the 
lot  raiseth  up  from  the  bottom,  and  brings 
out  such  corruption  as  otherwise  one 
could  hardly  imagine  to  be  within.  Who 
would  have  suspected  such  strength  of 
passion  in  the  meek  Moses  as  he  disco- 


THE   CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  47 

vered  at  the  waters  of  strife,  and  for  which 
he  was  kept  out  of  Canaan?  Psalm  cvi. 
32,  33.  Num.  xx.  13.  So  much  bitter- 
ness of  spirit  in  the  patient  Job,  as  to 
charge  God  with  becoming  cruel  to  him  ? 
Job  xxx.  21.  So  much  ill-nature  in  the 
good  Jeremiah,  as  to  curse  not  only  the 
day  of  his  birth,  but  even  the  man  who 
brought  tidings  of  it  to  his  father  ?  Jer. 
xx.  14, 15.  Or,  such  a  twang  of  atheism 
in  Asaph,  as  to  pronounce  religion  a  vain 
thing?  Psalm  lxxiii.  13.  But  the  crook 
in  the  lot,  bringing  out  these  things,  shew- 
ed them  to  have  been  within,  how  long 
soever  they  had  lurked  unobserved.  And 
as  this  design,  however  indecently  proud 
scoffers  allow  themselves  to  treat  it,  is  in 
no  way  inconsistent  with  the  divine  per- 
fections ;  so  the  discovery  itself  is  neces- 
sary for  the  due  humiliation  of  sinners, 
and  to  stain  the  pride  of  all  glory,  that 
men  may  know  themselves.  Both  which 
appear,  in  that  it  was  on  this  very  design 
that  God  made  the  long-continued  crook 
in  Israel's  lot  in  the  wilderness;  even  to 
humble  them  and  prove  them,  to  know 
what  was  in  their  heart,  Deut.  viii.2. 
Lastly,  The  exercise  of  grace  in  the 


48  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

children  of  God.  Believers,  through  the 
remains  of  indwelling  corruption,  are 
liable  to  fits  of  spiritual  laziness  and  in- 
activity, in  which  their  graces  lie  dormant 
for  the  time.  Besides,  there  are  some 
graces,  which,  of  their  own  nature,  are 
but  occasional  in  their  exercises;  as  being 
exercised  only  upon  occasion  of  certain 
things,  to  which  they  have  a  necessary  re- 
lation :  such  as  patience  and  long-suffer- 
ing. Now,  the  crook  in  the  lot  serves  to 
rouse  up  a  Christian  to  the  exercise  of  the 
graces,  overpowered  by  corruption,  and 
withal  to  call  forth  to  action  the  occasional 
graces,  ministering  proper  occasions  for 
them.  The  truth  is,  the  crook  in  the  lot 
is  the  great  engine  of  Providence  for 
making  men  appear  in  their  true  colours, 
discovering  both  their  ill  and  their  good ; 
and  if  the  grace  of  God  be  in  them,  it  will 
bring  it  out,  and  cause  it  to  display  itself. 
It  so  puts  the  Christian  to  his  shifts,  that 
however  it  makes  him  stagger  for  a  while, 
yet  it  will  at  length  evidence  both  the 
reality  and  the  strength  of  grace  in  him. 
*  Ye  are  in  heaviness  through  manifold 
temptations,  that  the  trial  of  your  faith, 
being  much  more  precious  than  of  gold 


THE   CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  49 

that  perisheth,  may  be  found  unto  praise,' 
1  Pet.  i.  6,  7.     The  crook  in  the  lot  gives 
rise  to  many  acts  of  faith,  hope,  love,  self- 
denial,  resignation,  and  other  graces;  to 
many  heavenly  breathings,  pantings,  and 
groanings,  which  otherwise  would  not  be 
brought  forth.     And  I  make  no  question 
but  these  things,    howsoever  by    carnal 
men  despised   as  trifling,  are  more  pre- 
cious in  the  sight  of  God  than  even  be- 
lievers themselves   are   aware  of,  being 
acts  of  immediate  internal  worship ;  and 
will,  at  length,  have  a  surprising  notice 
taken  of  them,  and  of  the  sum  of  them, 
howbeit  the  persons  themselves  often  can 
hardly  think  them  worth  their  own  notice 
at  all.     We  know  who  hath  said  to  the 
gracious  soul,  '  Let  me  see  thy  counte- 
nance ;  thy  countenance  is  comely/  '  Thou 
hast  ravished  my  heart  with  one  of  thine 
eyes/  Song  ii.  24;    iv.  9.     The  steady 
acting  of  a  gallant  army  of  horse  and 
foot    to    the  routing   of  the   enemy,   is 
highly  prized  ;  but  the  acting  of  holy  fear 
and  humble  hope,  is  in  reality  far  more 
valuable,  as  being  so  in  the  sight  of  God, 
whose  judgment,  we  are  sure,  is  accord- 
ing to  truth.    This  the  Psalmist  teacheth, 


50  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

Psalm  cxlvii.  11,  12.    <  He  delighteth  not 
in  the  strength  of  the  horse ;  he  taketh  not 
pleasure  in  the  legs  of  a  man.     The  Lord 
taketh  pleasure  in  them  that  fear  him,  in 
those  that  hope  in  his  mercy.'     And  in- 
deed the  exercise  of  the  graces  of  his  spirit 
in  his  people,  is  so  very  precious  in  his 
sight,  that  whatever  grace  any  of  them  do 
excel  in,  they  will  readily  get  such  a  crook 
made  in  their  lot  as  will  be  a  special  trial 
for  it,  that  will  make  a  proof  of  its  full 
strength.     Abraham  excelled  in  the  grace 
of  faith,  in  trusting  God's  bare  word  of 
promise  over  the  feelings  of  sense :  and  God 
giving  him  a  promise,  that  he  would  make 
of  him  a  great  nation,  made  withal  a  crook 
in  his  lot,  by  which  he  had  enough  to  do 
with  all  the  strength  of  his  faith  ;  while  he 
was  obliged  for  good  and  all  to  leave  his 
country  and  kindred,  and  sojourn  among 
the  Canaanites  ;  his  wife  continuing  bar- 
ren, till  past  the  age  of  child-bearing;  and 
when  she    had    at  length  brought  forth 
Isaac,  and   he  was  grown   up,  he   was 
called  to  offer  him  up  for  a  burnt-offering, 
the  more  exquisite  trial  of  his  faith,  in  that 
Ishmael  was  now  expelled  his  family,  and 
that  it  was  declared,  That  in  Isaac  only 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  51 

his  seed  should  be  called,  Gen.  xxi.  12. 
*  Moses  was  very  meek  above  all  the  men 
which  were  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,' 
Numb.  xii.  3.  And  he  was  entrusted  with 
the  conduct  of  a  most  perverse  and  un- 
manageable people,  the  crook  in  his  lot 
plainly  designed  for  the  exercise  of  his 
meekness.  Job  excelled  in  patience,  and 
by  the  crook  in  his  lot,  he  got  as  much  to 
do  with  it.  For  God  gives  none  of  his 
people  to  excel  in  a  gift,  but  some  one 
time  or  other  he  will  afford  them  use  for 
the  whole  compass  of  it. 

Now,  the  use  of  this  doctrine  is  three- 
fold, (1.)  For  reproof.  (2.)  For  conso- 
lation.    And  (3.)  For  exhortation. 

Use  1 .  Of  reproof.  And  it  meets  with 
three  sorts  of  persons  as  reproveable. 

First,  The  carnal  and  earthly,  who  do 
not  with  awe  and  reverence  regard  the 
crook  in  their  lot  as  of  God's  making. 
There  is  certainly  a  signature  of  the  divine 
hand  upon  it  to  be  perceived  by  just  ob- 
servers ;  and  that  challengeth  an  awful 
regard,  the  neglect  of  which  forebodes 
destruction,  Psal.  xxviii.  5.  '  Because 
they  regard  not  the  works  of  the  Lord, 
nor  the  operation  of  his  hands,  thou  shalt 
e  2 


62  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

destroy  them,  and  not  build  them  up/  And 
herein  they  are  deeply  guilty,  who,  poring 
upon  second  causes,  and  looking  no  fur- 
ther than  the  unhappy  instruments  of  the 
crook  in  their  lot,  overlooking  the  first 
cause,  as  a  dog  snarls  at  the  stone,  but 
looks  not  to  the  hand  that  casts  it.  This 
is,  in  fact,  to  make  a  God  of  the  creature; 
so  regarding  it,  as  if  it  could  of  itself 
effect  any  thing,  while  in  the  mean  time, 
it  is  but  an  instrument  in  the  hand  of 
God,  *  the  rod  of  his  anger/  Isa.  x.  5. 
*  Ordained  of  him  for  judgment,  esta- 
blished for  correction,'  Hab.i.l2.0h  !  why 
should  men  terminate  their  view  on  the 
instruments  of  the  crook  in  their  lot,  and 
so  magnify  their  scourges  !  The  truth  is, 
they  are,  for  the  most  part,  rather  to  be 
pitied,  as  having  an  undesirable  office, 
who,  for  the  gratifying  their  sensuality,  set 
themselves  to  despise  the  crook  in  their 
lot,  and  make  nothing  of  it,  and  give  up 
themselves  to  their  own  corrupt  affections, 
in  making  crooks  in  the  lot  of  others,  which 
return  on  their  own  heads  at  length  with  a 
vengeance,  as  did 'the  blood  ofjezreel 
on  the  house  of  Jehu,'  Hos.  i.4.  And  it 
is  specially  undesirable  to  be  so  employed 


THE   CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  53 

in  the  case  of  such  as  belong  to  God  ;  for 
rarely  is  the  ground  of  the  quarrel  the 
same  on  the  part  of  the  instrument  as  on 
God's  part,  but  very  different;  witness 
Shimei's  cursing  David,  as  a  bloody  man, 
meaning  the  blood  of  the  house  of  Saul, 
which  he  was  not  guilty  of,  while  God 
meant  it  of  the  blood  of  Uriah,  which  he 
could  not  deny,  2  Sam.  xvi.  7,  8.  More- 
over, the  quarrel  will  be,  at  length 
taken  up  between  God  and  his  people ; 
and  then  their  scourgers  will  find  they 
had  but  a  thankless  office,  Zech.  i.  16. 
1 1  was  but  a  little  displeased,  and  they 
helped  forward  the  affliction/  saith  God, 
in  resentment  of  the  heathen  crooking  the 
lot  of  his  people.  In  like  manner  are 
they  guilty,  who  impute  the  crook  in  their 
lot  to  fortune,  or  their  ill-luck,  which  in 
very  deed  is  nothing  but  a  creature  of 
imagination,  framed  for  a  blind  to  keep 
man  from  acknowledging  the  hand  of 
God.  Thus,  what  the  Philistines  doubt, 
they  do  more  impiously  determine,  say- 
ing, in  effect,  '  It  is  not  his  hand  that 
smote  us,  it  was  a  chance  that  happened 
us,'  1  Sam.  vi.  9.  And,  finally,  these 
also,  who,  in  the  way  of  giving  up  them- 


54  THE    CJIOOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

selves  to  carnal  mirth  and  sensuality,  set 
themselves  to  despise  the  crook  in  their 
lot,  to  make  nothing  of  it,  and  to  forget  it. 
I  question  not,  but  one  committing  his 
case  to  the  Lord,  and  looking  to  him  for 
remedy  in  the  first  place,  may  lawfully 
call  in  the  moderate  use  of  the  comforts 
of  life,  for  help,  in  the  second  place.  But 
as  for  that  course  so  frequent  and  usual  in 
this  case  among  carnal  men,  if  the  crook 
of  the  lot  really  be,  as  indeed  it  is,  of 
God's  making,  it  must  needs  be  a  most 
indecent,  unbecoming  course,  to  be  ab- 
horred of  all  good  men,  Prov.  iii.  11. 
1  My  son,  despise  not  the  chastening  of 
the  Lord.'  It  is  surely  a  very  desperate 
method  of  cure,  which  cannot  miss  of 
issuing  in  something  worse  *han  the  dis- 
ease, however  it  may  palliate  it  for  a 
while,  Isa.  xxii.  12.  14.  'In  that  day 
did  the  Lord  God  of  hosts  call  to  weeping 
and  mourning,  and  behold  joy  and  glad- 
ness, eating  flesh  and  drinking  wine: 
And  it  was  revealed  in  mine  ears,  by  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  surely  this  iniquity  shall 
not  be  purged  from  you  till  ye  die/ 

Secondly ,The  unsubmissive,  whose  hearts, 
like  the  troubled  sea,  swell  and  boil,  fret 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  55 

and  murmur,  and  cannot  be  at  rest  under 
the  crook  in  their  lot.     This  is  a  most  sin- 
ful and  dangerous  course.     The  apostle 
Jude,  characterizing  some,   '  to  whom  is 
reserved  the   blackness    of  darkness  for 
ever/  saith  of  them,  ver.  16.  'These  are 
murmurers,    complainers/   namely,   still 
complaining   of  their   lot,  which   is  the 
import  of  the  word  there  used  by  the 
Holy   Ghost.      For,  since  the   crook  in 
their  lot,  which  their  unsubdued  spirits 
can  by  no  means  submit  to,  is   of  God's 
making,  this  their  practice  must  needs  be 
a  fighting  against  God :  and  these  their 
complainings  and  murmurings  are  indeed 
against  him,  whatever  face  they  put  upon 
them.      Thus  when  the  Israelites  mur- 
mured against  Moses,  God  charges  them 
with  murmuring  against  himself :  <  How 
long  shall  I  bear  with  this  evil  congre- 
gation,  which    murmured   against   me  V 
Numb.xiv.  2.  27.     Ah  !  may  not  he  who 
made  and  fashioned  us  without  our  ad- 
vice, be  allowed  to  make   our  lot  too, 
without  asking  our  mind,  but  we  must 
rise  up  against  him  on  account  of  the 
crook  made  in  it?    What  doth  this  speak, 
but  that  the  proud  creature  cannot  endure 


56  THE   CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

God's  work,  nor  digest  what  he  hath 
done?  And  how  black  and  dangerous 
is  that  temper  of  spirit !  How  is  it  pos- 
sible to  miss  of  being  broken  to  pieces  in 
such  a  course  ?  '  He  is  wise  in  heart,  and 
mighty  in  strength  :  Who  hath  hardened 
himself  against  him,  and  hath  prospered?' 
Job  ix.  4. 

Lastly,  The  careless  and  unfruitful, 
who  do  not  set  themselves  dutifully  to 
comply  with  the  design  of  the  crook  in 
their  lot.  God  and  nature  do  nothing  in 
vain.  Since  he  makes  the  crook,  there  is 
doubtless  a  becoming  design  in  it,  which 
we  are  obliged  in  duty  to  fall  in  with, 
according  to  that,  Micah  vi.  9.  *  Hear 
ye  the  rod.'  And,  indeed,  if  one  shut 
not  his  own  eyes,  but  be  willing  to  un- 
derstand, he  may  easily  perceive  the 
general  design  thereof  to  be  to  wean 
him  from  this  world,  and  move  him  to 
seek  and  take  up  his  heart's  rest  in  God. 
And  the  nature  and  the  circumstances  of 
the  crook  itself  being  duly  considered,  it 
will  not  be  very  hard  to  make  a  more 
particular  discovery  of  the  design  thereof. 
But,  alas!  the  careless  sinner,  sunk  in 
spiritual    sloth    and  stupidity,    is  in  no 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  57 

concern  to  discover  the  design  of  Pro- 
vidence in  the  crook ;  so  he  cannot  fall 
in  with  it,  but  remains  unfruitful ;  and 
all  the  pains  taken  on  him,  by  the  great 
Husbandman,  in  the  dispensation,  are 
lost.  They  cry  out  by  reason  of '  the  arm 
of  the  mighty;'  groaning  under  the  pres- 
sure of  the  crook  itself,  and  weight  of  the 
hand  of  the  instrument  thereof:  *  But 
none  saith.  Where  is  God  my  Maker?' 
they  look  not,  they  turn  not  unto  God  for 
all  that,  Job  xxxv.  9,  10. 

Use  11.  Of  consolation.  It  speaks  com- 
fort to  the  afflicted  children  of  God. 
Whatever  is  the  crook  in  your  lot,  it 
is  of  God's  making ;  and  therefore  you 
may  look  upon  it  kindly.  Since  it  is 
your  Father  has  made  it  for  you,  ques- 
tion not  but  there  is  a  favourable  design 
in  it  towards  you,  A  discreet  child  wel- 
comed! his  fathers  rod,  knowing  that 
being  a  father,  he  seeks  his  benefit  there- 
by ;  and  shall  not  God's  children  wel- 
come the  crook  in  their  lot,  as  designed 
by  their  Father,  who  cannot  mistake  his 
measures  to  work  for  their  good,  accord- 
ing to  the  promise?  The  truth  is,  the 
crook  in  the  lot  of  a  believer,  how  pain- 


58  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

ful  soever  it  proves,  is  a  part  of  the 
discipline  of  the  covenant,  the  nurture 
secured  by  the  promise  of  the  Father  to 
Christ's  children,  Psalm  lxxxix.  30,  32. 
'  If  his  children  forsake  my  law,  and 
walk  not  in  my  judgments,  then  will  I 
visit  their  transgressions  with  the  rod.' 
Furthermore,  all  who  are  disposed  to  be- 
take themselves  to  God  under  the  crook 
in  their  lot,  may  take  comfort  in  this, 
let  them  know  that  there  is  no  crook  in 
their  lot  but  may  be  made  straight;  for 
God  made  it,  surely  then  he  can  mend  it. 
He  himself  can  make  straight  what  he 
hath  made  crooked,  though  none  other 
can.  There  is  nothing  too  hard  for  him 
to  do :  *  He  raiseth  up  the  poor  out  of 
the  dust,  and  lifteth  the  needy  out  of 
the  dunghill;  that  he  may  set  him  with 
princes.  He  maketh  the  barren  woman 
to  keep  house,  and  to  be  a  joyful  mother 
of  children,'  Psalm  cxiii.  7 — 9.  Say  not 
that  your  crook  hath  been  of  so  long  con- 
tinuance, that  it  will  never  mend.  Put  it 
in  the  hand  of  God,  who  made  it,  that  he 
may  mend  it,  and  wait  on  him ;  and  if  it 
be  for  thy  good,  that  it  should  be  mended, 
it  shall  be  mended ;  for  '  no  good  thing 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  59 

will  he  withhold  from  them  that  walk  up- 
rightly,' Psalm  lxxxiv.  11. 

Use  last,  Of  exhortation.  Since  the 
crook  in  the  lot  is  of  God's  making, 
then,  viewing  the  hand  of  God  in  your's, 
be  reconciled  to  it,  and  submit  under  it, 
whatever  it  is;  I  say,  viewing  the  hand  of 
God  in  it,  for  otherwise  your  submission 
under  the  crook  in  your  lot  cannot  be  a 
Christian  submission,  acceptable  to  God, 
having  no  reference  to  him  as  your  party 
in  the  matter. 

Object.  I.  But  some  will  say,  '  The 
crook  in  my  lot  is  from  the  hand  of  the 
creature;  and  such  a  one  too  as  I  de- 
served no  such  treatment  from. 

Am.  From  what  hath  been  already 
said,  it  appears  that,  although  the  crook 
in  thy  lot  be  indeed  immediately  from 
the  creature's  hand,  yet  it  is  mediately 
from  the  hand  of  God;  there  being  no- 
thing of  that  kind,  no  penal  evil,  but  the 
Lord  hath  done  it.  Therefore,  without  all 
peradventure,  God  himself  is  thy  princi- 
pal party,  whoever  be  the  less  principal. 
And  albeit  thou  hast  not  deserved  thy 
crook  at  the  hand  of  the  instrument  or 
instruments  which  he  makes  use  of  for 


60  THE   CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

thy  correction,  thou  certainly  deservest  it 
at  his  hand  ;  and  he  may  make  use  of 
what  instrument  he  will  in  the  matter,  or 
may  do  it  immediately  by  himself,  even 
as  seems  good  in  his  sight. 

Object.  II.  'But  the  crook  in  my  lot 
might  quickly  be  evened,  if  the  instru- 
ment or  instruments  thereof  pleased  ;  only 
there  is  no  dealing  with  them,  so  as  to  con- 
vince them  of  their  fault  in  making  it.' 

Ans.  If  it  is  so,  be  sure  God's  time 
is  not  as  yet  come,  that  that  crook 
should  be  evened  ;  for  if  it  were  come, 
though  they  stand  now  like  an  impreg- 
nable fort,  they  would  give  way  like  a 
sandy  bank  under  one's  feet :  they  should 
1  bow  down  to  thee  with  their  face  to- 
ward the  earth,  and  lick  up  the  dust  of 
thy  feet.'  Isai.  xlix.  23.  Meanwhile,  that 
state  of  the  matter  is  so  far  from  justi- 
fying one's  not  eyeing  the  hand  of  God 
in  the  crook  in  the  lot,  that  it  makes  a 
piece  of  trial  in  which  his  hand  very 
eminently  appears,  namely,  that  man 
should  be  signally  injurious  and  bur- 
densome to  others,  yet  by  no  means  sus- 
ceptible of  conviction.  This  was  the 
trial  of  the  church  from  her  adversaries. 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  61 

Jer.  1.  7.  '  All  that  found  them  have 
devoured  them;  and  their  adversaries 
said,  We  offend  not :  because  they  have 
sinned  against  the  Lord,  the  habitation 
of  justice.'  They  were  very  abusive,  and 
gave  her  barbarous  usage;  yet  would 
they  take  with  no  fault  in  the  matter. 
How  could  they  ward  off  the  conviction  ? 
Were  they  verily  blameless  in  their  de- 
vouring the  Lord's  straying  sheep?  No, 
surely,  they  were  not.  Did  they  look 
upon  themselvers  as  ministers  of  the  di- 
vine justice  against  her  ?  No,  they  did 
not. 

Some  indeed  would  make  a  question 
here,  How  the  adversaries  of  the  church 
could  celebrate  her  God  as  the  habita- 
tion of  justice?  But  the  original  point- 
ing of  the  text  being  retained,  it  appears, 
that  there  is  no  ground  at  all  for  this 
question  here,  and  withal  the  whole  mat- 
ter is  set  in  a  clear  light.  '  All  that 
found  them  have  devoured  them ;  and 
their  adversaries  said,  We  offend  not: 
because  they  have  sinned  against  the 
Lord,  the  habitation  of  justice.'  These 
last  are  not  the  words  of  the  adversaries, 
but  the  words  of  the  prophet,  shewing 


62  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

how  it  came  to  pass  that  the  adversa- 
ries devoured  the  Lord's  sheep,  as  they 
lighted  on  them,  and  withal  stood  to 
the  defence  of  it,  when  they  had  done, 
far  from  acknowledging  any  wrong ;  the 
matter  lay  here,  the  sheep  had  sinned 
against  the  Lord,  the  habitation  of  jus- 
tice; and,  as  a  just  punishment  hereof 
from  his  hand,  they  could  have  no  justice 
at  the  hand  of  his  adversaries. 

Wherefore,  laying  aside  these  frivo- 
lous pretences,  and  eyeing  the  hand  of 
God,  as  that  which  hath  bowed  your 
lot  in  that  part,  and  keeps  it  in  the  bow, 
be  reconciled  to,  and  submit  under  the 
crook,  whatever  it  is,  saying  from  the 
heart,  '  Truly  this  is  a  grief,  and  I  must 
bear  it,'  Jer.  x.  19.  And  to  move  you 
hereunto,  consider, 

1.  It  is  a  duty  you  owe  to  God,  as 
your  sovereign  Lord  and  Benefactor.  His 
sovereignty  challengeth  our  submission ; 
and  it  can  in  no  case  be  meanness  of 
spirit  to  submit  unto  the  crook  which 
his  hand  hath  made  in  our  lot,  and  to 
go  quietly  under  the  yoke  that  he  hath 
laid  on  ;  but  it  is  really  madness  for  the 
potsherds  of  the  earth,  by  their  turbulent 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  63 

and  refractory  carriage  under  it,  to  strive 
with  their  Maker.  And  his  beneficence 
to  us,  ill-deserving  creatures,  may  well 
stop  our  mouths  from  our  complaining 
of  his  making  a  crook  in  our  lot,  who 
had  done  us  no  wrong  had  he  made  the 
whole  of  it  crooked  :  '  Shall  we  receive 
good  at  the  hand  of  God,  and  shall  we 
not  receive  evil?'  Job  ii.  10. 

2.  It  is  an  unalterable  statute,  for  the 
time  of  this  life,  that  nobody  shall  want 
a  crook  in  their  lot;  for  '  man  is  born 
unto  trouble  as  the  sparks  fly  upward,' 
Job  v.  7.  And  those  who  are  designed 
for  heaven,  are  in  a  special  manner  as- 
sured of  a  crook  in  their's,  that  '  in  the 
world  they  shall  have  tribulation/  John 
xvi.  33  ;  for  by  means  thereof  the  Lord 
makes  them  meet  for  heaven.  And  how 
can  you  imagine  that  you  shall  be  ex- 
empted from  the  common  lot  of  man- 
kind? '  Shall  the  rock  be  removed  out 
of  his  place  for  thee?'  And  since  God 
makes  the  crooks  in  men's  lot  according 
to  the  different  exigence  of  their  cases, 
you  may  be  sure  that  your's  is  necessary 
for  you. 

3    A  crook  in  the  lot,  which  one  can 


64  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

by  no  means  submit  to,  makes  a  condi- 
tion of  all  things  the  likest  to  that  in  hell. 
For  there  a  yoke,  which  the  wretched 
sufferers  can  neither  bear  nor  shake  off, 
is  wreathed  about  their  necks;  there  the 
almighty  arm  draws  against  them,  and 
they  against  it;  there  they  are  ever  suf- 
fering and  ever  sinning;  still  in  the  fur- 
nace, but  their  dross  not  consumed,  nor 
they  purified.  Even  such  is  the  case  of 
those  who  now  cannot  submit  under  the 
crook  in  their  lot. 

4.  Great  is  the  loss  by  not  submitting 
under  it.  The  crook  in  the  lot,  rightly 
improved,  hath  turned  to  the  best  ac- 
count, and  made  the  best  time  to  some 
that  ever  they  had  all  their  life  long,  as 
the  Psalmist  from  his  own  experience 
testifies,  Psal.  cxix,  67.  '  Before  I  was 
afflicted,  I  went  astray;  but  now  have  I 
kept  thy  word.'  There  are  many  now 
in  heaven,  who  are  blessing  God  for  the 
crook  they  had  in  their  "lot  here.  What 
a  sad  thing  must  it  then  be  to  lose  this 
fair  wind  for  Immanuel's  land !  But 
if  the  crook  in  thy  lot  do  thee  no  good, 
be  sure  it  will  not  miss  of  doing  thee 
great  damage;    it   will  hugely  increase 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  65 

guilt  and  aggravate  thy  condemnation, 
while  it  shall  for  ever  cut  to  the  heart,  to 
think  of  the  pains  taken  on  thee,  by  means 
of  the  crook  in  the  lot,  to  wean  thee  from 
the  world,  and  bring  thee  to  God,  but  all 
in  vain.  Take  heed,  therefore,  how  you 
manage  it,  '  Lest — thou  mourn  at  the  last 
— and  say,  How  have  I  hated  instruction, 
and  my  heart  despised  reproof!"  Prov.  v. 
10  —  12. 

Doct.  II.  What  God  sees  meet  to  mar,  we 
shall  not  be  able  to  mend  in  our  lot. 
What  crook  God  makes  in  our  lot,  we 
shall  not  be  able  to  even. — We  shall, 

I.  Shew  God's  marring  and  making  a 
crook  in  one's  lot,  as  he  sees  meet. 

II.  We  shall  consider  men's  attempt- 
ing to  mend  or  even  that  crook  in  their 
lot. 

III.  In  what  sense  it  is  to  be  under- 
stood that  we  shall  not  be  able  to  mend, 
or  even  the  crook  in  our  lot. 

IV.  Render  some  reasons  of  the  point. 

I.  As  to  the  first  head,  namely,  shew 
God's  marring  and  making  a  crook  in  one's 
lot,  as  he  sees  meet. 

i 


66  THE    CROOK    IN    THE   LOT. 

First,  God  keeps  the  choice  of  every 
one's  crook  to  himself;  and  therein  he 
exerts  his  sovereignty,  Matth.  xx.  15.  It 
is  not  left  to  our  option  what  that  crook 
shall  be,  or  what  our  peculiar  burden  ; 
but,  as  the  potter  makes  of  the  same  clay 
one  vessel  for  one  use,  another  for  another 
use;  so  God  makes  one  crook  for  one, 
another  for  another,  according  to  his  own 
will  and  pleasure,  Psal  cxxxv.  6.  '  What- 
soever the  Lord  pleased,  that  did  he,  in 
heaven  and  in  earth/  &c. 

Secondly,  He  sees  and  observes  the 
bias  of  every  one's  will  and  inclination, 
how  it  lies,  and  wherein  it  especially 
bends  away  from  himself,  and  conse- 
quently wherein  it  needs  the  special  bow; 
so  he  did  in  that  man's  case,  Mark  x.  21. 
'  One  thing  thou  lackest;  go  thy  way,  sell 
whatsoever  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the 
poor/  &c.  Observe  the  bent  of  his  heart 
to  his  great  possessions.  He  takes  notice 
what  is  that  idol  that  in  every  one's  case 
is  most  apt  to  be  his  rival,  that  so  he  may 
suit  the  trial  to  the  case,  making  the  crook 
there. 

Thirdly,  By  the  conduct  of  his  pro- 
vidence, or  a  touch  of  his  hand,  he  gives 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  67 

that  part  of  one's  lot  a  bow  the  contrary 
way  ;  so  that  henceforth  it  lies  quite  con- 
trary to  the  bias  of  the  party's  will,  Ezek. 
xxiv.  25.  And  here  the  trial  is  made,  the 
bent  of  the  will  lying  one  way,  and  that 
part  of  one's  lot  another,  that  it  does  not 
answer  the  inclination  of  the  party,  but 
thwarts  with  it. 

Lastly,  He  wills  that  crook  in  the  lot  to 
remain  while  he  sees  meet,  for  longer  or 
shorter  time,  just  according  to  his  own 
holy  ends  he  designs  it  for,  2  Sam.  xii.  10. 
Hos.  v.  15.  By  that  will  it  is  so  fixed, 
that  the  whole  creation  cannot  alter  it,  or 
put  it  out  of  the  bow. 

II.  We  shall  consider  men's  attempting 
to  mend  or  even  that  crook  in  their  lot. 
This,  in  a  word,  lies  in  their  making  ef- 
forts to  bring  their  lot  in  that  point  to 
their  own  will,  that  they  may  both  go 
one  way;  so  it  imports  three  things  : 

First,  A  certain  uneasiness  under  the 
crook  in  the  lot;  it  is  a  yoke  which  is 
hard  for  the  party  to  bear,  till  his  spirit 
be  tamed  and  subdued,  Jer.  xxxi.  18. 
1  Thou  hast  chastised  me,  and  I  was  chas- 
tised, as  a  bullock  unaccustomed  to  the 
yoke ;  turn  thou  me,  and  I  shall  be  turned,' 
f2 


68  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

&c.  And  it  is  for  the  breaking  down  of  the 
weight  of  one's  spirit  that  God  lays  it  on  : 
for  which  cause  it  is  declared  to  be  a  good 
thing  to  bear  it,  Lam.  iii.  27,  that  being 
the  way  to  make  one  at  length  as  a  weaned 
child. 

Secondly,  A  strong  desire  to  have  the 
cross  removed,  and  to  have  matters  in 
that  part  going  according  to  our  inclina- 
tions. This  is  very  natural,  nature  de- 
siring to  be  freed  from  every  thing  that  is 
burdensome  or  cross  to  it;  and  if  that  de- 
sire be  kept  in  a  due  subordination  to  the 
will  of  God,  and  be  not  too  peremptory, 
it  is  not  sinful,  Matth.  xxvi.  39.  *  If  it  be 
possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me ;  never- 
theless, not  as  I  will,'  &c.  Hence  so 
many  accepted  prayers  of  the  people  of 
God,  for  the  removal  of  the  crook  in  their 
lot. 

Lastly,  An  earnest  use  of  means  for 
that  end.  This  natively  follows  on  that 
desire.  The  man,  being  pressed  with 
the  cross,  which  is  in  his  crook,  labours  all 
he  can  in  the  use  of  means  to  be  rid  of  it. 
And  if  the  means  used  be  lawful,  and  not 
relied  upon,  but  followed  with  an  eye  to 
God  in  them,  the   attempt  is  not  sinful 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  69 

either,  whether  he  succeed  in  the  use  of 
them  or  not. 

III.  In  what  sense  it  is  to  be  under- 
stood, that  we  shall  not  be  able  to  mend 
or  even  the  crook  in  our  lot. 

Negatively.,  It  is  not  to  be  understood, 
as  if  the  case  were  absolutely  hopeless, 
and  that  there  is  no  remedy  for  the  crook 
in  the  lot.  For  there  is  no  case  so  despe- 
rate, but  God  may  right  it,  Gen.xviii.  14. 
*  Is  any  thing  too  hard  for  the  Lord?' 
When  the  crook  has  continued  long,  and 
spurned  all  remedies  one  has  used  for  it, 
one  is  ready  to  lose  hope  about  it;  but 
many  a  crook,  given  over  for  hopeless 
that  would  never  mend,  God  has  made 
perfectly  straight,  as  in  Job's  case. 

But,  Positively,  We  shall  never  be  able 
to  mend  it  by  ourselves;  if  the  Lord  him- 
self take  it  not  in  hand  to  remove  it,  it 
will  stand  before  us  immoveable,  like  a 
mountain  of  brass,  though  perhaps  it  may 
be  in  itself  a  thing  that  might  easily  be 
removed.  We  take  it  up  in  these  three 
things. 

1.  It  will  never  do  by  the  mere  force 
of  our  hand,    1  Sam.  ii.  9.  —  *  For  by 


70  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

strength  shall  no  man  prevail.'  The  most 
vigorous  endeavours  we  can  use  will  not 
even  the  crook,  if  God  give  it  not  a  touch 
of  his  hand  ;  so  that  all  endeavours  that 
way,  without  an  eye  to  God,  are  vain  and 
fruitless,  and  will  be  but  ploughing  on  the 
rock,  Psalm  cxxvii.  1 ,  2. 

2.  The  use  of  all  allowable  means,  for 
it  will  be  successless,  unless  the  Lord  bless 
them  for  that  end,  Lam.  iii.  37.  '  Who  is 
he  that  saith,  and  it  cometh  to  pass,  when 
the  Lord  commandeth  it  not?'  As  one 
may  eat  and  not  be  satisfied,  so  one  may 
use  means  proper  for  evening  the  crook  in 
his  lot,  and  yet  prevail  nothing ;  for  no- 
thing can  be  or  do  for  us  any  more  than 
God  makes  it  to  be  or  do,  Eccl.,ix.  11. 
'  The  race  is  not  to  the  swift,  nor  the  bat- 
tle to  the  strong;  neither  yet  bread  to  the 
wise,  nor  yet  riches  to  men  of  understand- 
ing,' &c. 

3.  It  will  never  do  in  our  time,  but  in 
God's  time,  which  seldom  is  so  early  as 
ours,  John  vii.  6.  *  My  time  is  not  yet  come, 
but  your  time  is  always  ready.'  Hence 
that  crook  remains  sometimes  immoveable, 
as  if  it  were  kept  by  an  invisible  hand ; 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  71 

and  at  another  time  it  goes  away  with  a 
touch,  because  God's  time  is  come  for 
evening  it. 

IV.  We  shall  now  assign  the  reasons  of 
the  point. 

1st,  Because  of  the  absolute  dependence 
we  have  upon  God,  Acts  xvii.  28.  As  the 
light  depends  on  the  sun,  or  the  shadow  on 
the  body,  so  we  depend  on  God,  and  with- 
out him  can  do  nothing,  great  or  small. 
And  God  will  have  us  to  find  it  so,  to 
teach  us  our  dependence. 

Idly,  Because  his  will  is  irresistible, 
Isai.  xlvi.  10.  '  My  counsel  shall  stand, 
and  I  will  do  all  my  pleasure/  When  God 
wills  one  thing,  and  the  creature  the  con- 
trary, it  is  easy  to  see  which  will  must  be 
done.  When  the  omnipotent  arm  holds, 
in  vain  does  the  creature  draw,  Job  ix.  4. 
*  Who  hath  hardened  himself  against  him 
and  prospered?' 

Inference  1.  There  is  a  necessity  of 
yielding  and  submitting  under  the  crook 
in  our  lot ;  for  we  may  as  well  think  to 
remove  the  rocks  and  mountains,  which 
God  has  settled,  as  to  make  that  part  of 
our  lot  straight  which  he  hath  made 
crooked. 


72  THE    CHOCK    IN    THE    LOT. 

2.  The  evening  of  the  crook  in  our  lot, 
by  main  force  of  our  own,  is  but  a  cheat 
we  put  on  ourselves,  and  will  not  last, 
but,  like  a  stick  by  main  force  made 
straight,  it  will  quickly  return  to  the  bow 
again. 

3.  The  only  habile  way  of  getting  the 
crook  evened,  is  to  apply  to  God  for  it. 

Exhortation  1.  Let  us  then  apply  to 
God  for  removing  any  crook  in  our  lot, 
that  in  the  settled  order  of  things  may  be 
removed.  Men  cannot  cease  to  desire 
the  removal  of  a  crook,  more  than  that  of 
a  thorn  in  the  flesh  :  but,  since  we  are  not 
able  to  mend  what  God  sees  meet  to  mar, 
it  is  evident  we  are  to  apply  to  him  that 
made  it  to  mend  it,  and  not  take  the  even- 
ing of  it  in  our  own  hand. 

Motive  1.  All  our  attempts  for  its  re- 
moval will,  without  him,  be  vain  and 
fruitless,  Psal.  cxxvii.  1.  Let  us  be  as 
resolute  as  we  will  to  have  it  evened,  if 
God  say  it  not,  we  will  labour  in  vain, 
Lam.  iii.  37.  Howsoever  fair  the  means 
we  use  bid  for  it,  they  will  be  ineffectual 
if  he  command  not  the  blessing,  Eccl.  ix. 
11. 

2.  Such  attempts  will  readily  make  it 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE   LOT.  73 

worse.  Nothing  is  more  ordinary,  than 
for  a  proud  spirit  striving  with  the  crook, 
to  make  it  more  crooked,  Eccl.  x.  8. 
*  Whoso  breaketh  a  hedge,  a  serpent  shall 
bite  him.  Ver.  9.  '  Whoso  removeth 
stones,  shall  be  hurt  therewith/  &c.  This 
is  evident  in  the  case  of  the  murmurers  in 
the  wilderness.  It  natively  comes  to  be 
so  ;  because,  at  that  rate,  the  will  of  the 
party  bends  farther  away  from  it :  and, 
moreover,  God  is  provoked  to  wreath  the 
yoke  faster  about  one's  neck,  that  he  will 
by  no  means  let  it  sit  easy  on  him. 

3.  There  is  no  crook  but  what  may  be 
remedied  by  him,  and  made  perfectly 
straight,  Psal.  cxlvi.  8.  '  The  Lord  raiseth 
them  that  are  bowed  down/  &c.  He  can 
raise  the  oldest  sit-fast,  concerning  which 
there  remains  no  hope  with  us,  Rom.iv.17. 
'  Who  quickeneth  the  dead  and  calleth 
those  things  which  be  not  as  though  they 
were?'  It  is  his  prerogative  to  do  won- 
ders; to  begin  a  work,  where  the  whole 
creation  gives  it  over  as  hopeless,  and 
carry  it  on  to  perfection.  Gen.  xviii.  14. 

4.  He  loves  to  be  employed  in  evening 
crooks,  and  calls  us  to  employ  him  that 
way,  Psal.  1.  15.     '  Call  upon  me  in  the 


74  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

day  of  trouble,  and  I  will  deliver  thee,* 
&c.  He  makes  them  for  that  very  end, 
that  he  may  bring  us  to  him  on  that  er- 
rand, and  may  manifest  his  power  and 
goodness  in  evening  of  them,  Hos.  v.  15. 
The  straits  of  the  children  of  men  afford  a 
large  field  for  displaying  his  glorious  per- 
fections, which  otherways  would  be  want- 
ing, Exod.  xv.  11. 

5.  A  crook  thus  got  evened  is  a  double 
mercy.  There  are  some  crooks  evened 
by  a  touch  of  the  hand  of  common  provi- 
dence, while  people  are  either  not  exer- 
cised about  them,  or  when  they  fret  for 
their  removal;  these  are  sapless  mercies, 
and  short-lived,  Psal.lxxviii.  30,  31.  Hos. 
xiii.  11.  Fruits  thus  too  hastily  plucked 
off  the  tree  of  providence  can  hardly  miss 
to  set  the  teeth  on  edge,  and  will  certainly 
be  bitter  to  the  gracious  soul.  But  O  the 
sweets  of  the  evening  of  the  crook  got  by 
a  humble  application  to,  and  waiting  on 
the  Lord  !  It  has  the  image  and  super- 
scription of  divine  favour  upon  it,  which 
makes  it  bulky  and  valuable,  Gen.  xxxiii. 
10.  '  For  therefore  I  have  seen  thy  face, 
as  though  I  had  seen  the  face  of  God/  &c. 
chap,  xxi.6. 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  75 

6.  God  has  signalized  his  favour  to  his 
dearest  children,  in  making  and  mending 
notable  crooks  in  their  lot.  His  darling 
ones  ordinarily  have  the  greatest  crooks 
made  in  their  lot,  Heb.  xii.  6.  But  then 
they  make  way  for  their  richest  expe- 
riences in  the  removal  of  them,  upon 
their  application  to  him.  This  is  clear 
from  the  case  of  Abraham,  Jacob,  and 
Joseph.  Which  of  the  patriarchs  had  so 
great  crooks  as  they  ?  but  which  of  them, 
on  the  other  hand,  had  so  signal  tokens  of 
the  divine  favour  ?  The  greatest  of  men, 
as  Samson  and  the  Baptist,  have  been 
born  of  women  naturally  barren ;  so  do 
the  greatest  crooks  issue  in  the  richest 
mercies  to  them  that  are  exercised  there- 
by. 

7.  It  is  the  shortest  and  surest  way  to 
go  straight  to  God  with  the  crook  in  the 
lot.  If  we  would  have  our  wish  in  that 
point,  we  must,  as  the  eagle,  first  soar 
aloft,  and  then  come  down  on  the  prey, 
Mark  v.  36.  Our  faithless  out-of-the-way 
attempts  to  even  the  crook,  are  but  our 
fool's  haste,  that  is  no  speed  ;  as  in  the 
case  of  Abraham's  going  in  to  Hagar. 
God  is  the  first  mover,  who  sets  all  the 


76  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

wheels  in  motion  for  evening  the  crook, 
the  which  without  him  will  remain  im- 
moveable, Hos.  ii.  21,  22. 

Object.  1.  '  But  it  is  needless,  for  I 
see,  that  though  the  crook  in  my  lot  may 
mend,  yet  I  will  never  mend.  In  its  own 
nature  it  is  capable  of  being  removed,  but 
it  is  plain  it  is  not  to  be  removed,  it  is 
hopeless. 

Ans.  That  is  the  language  of  unbeliev- 
ing haste,  which  faith  and  patience  should 
correct,  Psal.  cxvi.  11, 12.  Abrahamhad 
so  much  to  say  for  the  hopelessness  of  his 
crook,  but  yet  he  applies  to  God  in  faith 
for  the  mending  of  it,  Rom.  iv.  19,  20. 
Sarah  had  made  such  a  conclusion,  for 
which  she  was  rebuked,  Gen.  xviii.  13,14. 
Nothing  can  make  it  needless  in  such  a 
case  to  apply  to  God. 

Object. 2.  '  But  I  have  applied  to  him 
again  and  again  for  it,  yet  it  is  never 
mended.7 

Ans.  Delays  are  not  denials  of  suits 
at  the  court  of  heaven,  but  trials  of  the 
faith  and  patience  of  the  petitioners.  And 
whoso  will  hang  on  will  certainly  suc- 
ceed at  long-run.  '  And  shall  not  God 
avenge  his  own  elect,  which  cry  day  and 


THE    CUOOK    IN    THE    LOT.  77 

night  unto  him,  though  he  bear  long  with 
them?  I  tell  you  that  he  will  avenge 
them  speedily.'  Luke  xviii.  7,  8.  31. 
Sometimes  indeed  folks  grow  pettish,  in 
the  case  of  the  crook  in  the  lot,  and  let  it 
dropout  in  their  prayers,  in  a  course  of 
despondency,  while  yet  it  continues  un- 
easy to  them  ;  but,  if  God  mind  to  even  it 
in  mercy,  he  will  oblige  them  to  take  it  in 
again  into  them,  Ezek.  xxxvi.  37.  '  I  will 
yet,  for  this,  be  enquired  of  by  the  house 
of  Israel,  to  do  it  for  them,'  &c.  If  the 
removal  come,  while  it  is  dropt,  there  will 
be  little  comfort  in  it :  though  it  were 
never  to  be  removed  while  we  live,  that 
should  not  cut  off  our  applying  to  God 
for  the  removal ;  for  there  are  many 
prayers  not  to  be  answered  till  we  come 
to  the  other  world,  and  there  all  will  be 
answered  at  once,  Rom.vii.24. 

Directions  for  right  managing  the  applica- 
tion for  removing  the  crook  in  the  lot. 

1.  Pray  for  it,  Ezek.  xxxvi.  37,  and 
pray  in  faith,  believing  that,  for  the  sake 
of  Jesus,  you  shall  certainly  obtain  at 
length,  and  in  this  life  too,  if  it  is  good  for 


78  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

you ;  but  without  peradventure  in  the 
other  life,  Matt.  xxi.  22.  They  will  not 
be  disappointed  that  sing  the  song  of 
Moses  and  of  the  Lamb,  Rev.  xv.  3. 
And,  in  some  cases  of  that  nature,  extra- 
ordinary prayer,  with  fasting,  is  very  ex- 
pedient, Matt.  xvii.  21. 

2.  Humble  yourselves  under  it,  as  the 
yoke  which  the  sovereign  hand  has  laid 
on  you,  Micah  vii.  9.  '  I  will  bear  the 
indignation  of  the  Lord,  because  I  have 
sinned  against  him.'  Justify  God,  con- 
demn yourselves,  kiss  the  rod,  and  go 
quietly  under  it;  this  is  the  most  feasible 
way  to  get  rid  of  it,  James  iv.  10. — When 
the  bullock  is  broken  and  tamed,  as  ac- 
customed to  the  yoke,  then  it  is  taken  off, 
the  end  being  obtained,  Psa.  x.  1 7.  '  Thou 
wilt  prepare  their  hearts,  thou  wilt  cause 
thine  ear  to  hear/ 

3.  Wait  on  patiently  till  the  hand  that 
made  it  mend  it,  Psa.  xxvii.  14.  Do 
not  give  up  the  matter  as  hopeless,  be- 
cause you  are  not  so  soon  relieved  as  you 
would;  '  but  let  patience  have  her  perfect 
work,  that  ye  may  be  perfect  and  entire, 
wanting  nothing,  James  i.  4.  Leave  the 
timing  of  the  deliverance  to  the  Lord ; 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  79 

his  time  will  at  length,  to  conviction,  ap- 
pear the  best,  and  it  will  not  go  beyond  it, 
Isa.  lx.  22.  'I,  the  Lord,  will  hasten  it  in 
his  time;'  waiting  on  him,  you  will  not 
be  disappointed,  '  For  they  shall  not  be 
ashamed  that  wait  for  me,'  Isa.  xlix.  23. 

Exhortation  2.  What  crook  there  is, 
that,  in  the  settled  order  of  things,  cannot 
be  got  removed  or  evened  in  this  world, 
let  us  apply  to  God  for  suitable  relief 
under  it.  For  instance,  the  common 
crook  in  the  lot  of  saints,  viz,  in-dwelling 
sin  ;  as  God  has  made  that  crook  not  to 
be  removed  here,  he  can  certainly  balance 
it,  and  afford  relief  under  it.  The  same  is 
to  be  said  of  any  crook,  while  it  remains 
unremoved.  In  both  cases  apply  yourself 
to  God,  for  making  up  your  losses  an- 
other way.  And  there  are  five  things  I 
would  have  you  to  keep  in  view,  and  aim 
at  here. 

1.  To  take  God  in  Christ  for,  and  in- 
stead of,  that  thing,  the  withholding  or 
taking  away  of  which  from  you  makes  the 
crook  in  your  lot,  Psa.  cxlii.  4, 5.  There 
is  never  a  crook  God  makes  in  our  lot, 
but  it  is  in  effect  heaven's  offer  of  a  blest 
exchange  to   us;    such  as  Mark  x.  21. 


80  THE    CROOK    IN    THE   LOT. 

'  Sell  whatsoever  thou  hast,and  thou  shalt 
have  treasure  in  heaven.'  In  managing 
of  which  exchange,  God  first  puts  out  his 
hand,  and  takes  away  some  earthly  thing 
from  us;  and  it  is  expected  we  put  out 
our  hand  next,  and  take  some  heavenly 
thing  from  him  in  the  stead  of  it,  and  par- 
ticularly, his  Christ.  Wherefore  has  God 
emptied  your  left  hand  of  such  and  such 
an  earthly  comfort?  Stretch  out  your 
right  hand  to  God  in  Christ,  take  him  in 
the  room  of  it,  and  welcome.  Therefore 
the  soul's  closing  with  Christ  is  called 
buying,  wherein  parting  with  one  thing 
we  get  another  in  its  stead.  *  The  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  merchant- 
man seeking  goodly  pearls,  who,  when 
he  had  found  one  pearl  of  great  price, 
he  went  and  sold  all  that  he  had  and 
bought  it,'  Matt.  xiii.  45,  46.  Do  this, 
and  you  will  be  more  than  even  hands 
with  the  crook  in  your  lot. 

2.  Look  for  the  streams  running  as  full 
from  him  as  ever  it  did  or  could  run, 
when  the  crook  of  the  lot  has  dried  it. 
This  is  the  work  of  faith,  confidently  to 
hang  on  for  that  from  God,  which  is 
denied  us  from  the  creature.    *  When  my 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  81 

father  and  mother  forsake  me,  then  the 
Lord  will  take  me  up/  Psa.  xxvii.  10. 
This  is  a  most  rational  expectation  :  for  it 
is  certain  there  is  no  good  in  the  creature 
but  what  is  from  God  ;  therefore  there  is 
no  good  to  be  found  in  the  creature,  the 
stream,  but  what  may  be  got  immediately 
from  God,  the  fountain.  And  O  !  but  it 
is  a  welcome  plea,  to  come  to  God  and 
say,  Now,  Lord,  thou  hast  taken  away 
from  me  such  a  creature-comfort,  I  must 
have  as  good  from  thyself. 

3.  The  spiritual  fruits  of  the  crook  in 
the  lot,  Heb.iXii.  11.  We  see  the  way  in 
the  world  is,  when  one  trade  fails,  to  fall 
on  and  drive  another  trade ;  so  should 
we,  when  there  is  a  crook  in  the  lot, 
making  our  earthly  comforts  low,  set  our- 
selves the  more  for  spiritual  attainments. 
If  our  trade  with  the  world  sinks,  let  us 
see  to  drive  a  trade  with  heaven  more 
vigorously ;  see,  if  by  means  of  the  crook, 
we  can  reach  more  faith,  love,  heavenly- 
mindedness,  contempt  of  the  world,  hu- 
mility, self-denial,  &c.  2  Cor.  vi.  10.  So 
while  we  lose  at  one  hand,  we  shall  gain  at 
another. 

4.  Grace  to  carry  us   up  undtr  the 

G 


82  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

crook.  l  For  this  thing  I  besought  the 
Lord  thrice;  and  he  said,  My  grace  is 
sufficient  for  thee/  2  Cor.  xii.  8, 9.  Whe- 
ther a  man  be  faint,  and  have  a  light  bur- 
den, or  be  refreshed,  and  strengthened, 
and  have  a  heavy  one,  it  is  all  a  case ;  the 
latter  can  go  as  easy  under  his  burden  as 
the  former  under  his.  Grace  proportioned 
to  the  trial  is  what  we  should  aim  at;  get- 
ting that,  though  the  crook  be  not  evened, 
we  are  even  hands  with  it. 

5.  The  keeping  in  our  eye  the  eternal 
rest  and  weight  of  glory  m  the  other  world, 
2  Cor.  iv.  17,  18.  '  For  our  light  afflic- 
tions, which  are  but  for  a  moment,  work- 
eth  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eter- 
nal weight  of  glory,  while  we  look  not  at 
the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things 
that  are  not  seen.'  This  will  balance  the 
crook  in  your  lot,  be  it  what  it  will; 
while  they  who  have  no  well-grounded 
hope  of  salvation,  will  find  the  crook  in 
their  lot  in  this  world  such  a  weight,  as 
they  have  nothing  to  counterbalance  ;  yet 
the  hope  of  eternal  rest  may  bear  up 
under  all  the  toil  and  trouble  met  with 
here. 

Exhortation  3.     Let   us  then  set  our- 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  83 

selves  rightly  to  bear  and  carry  under  the 
crook  in  our  lot,  while  God  sees  meet  to 
continue  it.  What  we  cannot  mend,  let 
us  bear  Christianly,  and  not  fight  against 
God,  and  so  kick  against  the  pricks.  So 
let  us  bear  it, 

1 .  Patiently,  without  firing  and  fretting, 
or  murmuring,  James  v.  7.  Psalm  xxxvii. 
7.  Though  we  lose  our  comfort  in  the 
creature,  through  the  crook  in  our  lot,  let 
us  not  lose  the  profession  of  ourselves, 
Luke  xxi.  19.  The  crook  in  our  lot  makes 
us  like  one  who  has  but  a  scanty  cold-rife 
fire  to  warm  at ;  but  impatience  under  it 
scatters  it,  so  as  to  set  the  house  on  fire 
about  us,  and  exposeth  us,  Prov.  xxv.  28. 
'He  that  hath  no  rule  over  his  own  spirit, 
is  like  a  city  that  is  broken  down,  and 
without  walls.' 

2.  With  Christian  fortitude,  without 
sinking  under  discouragement—'  nor  faint 
when  thou  art  rebuked  of  him/  Heb. 
xii.  5.  Satan's  work  is  by  the  crook,  either 
to  bend  or  break  people's  spirits,  and 
oftentimes  by  bending  to  break  them  ; 
our  work  is  to  carry  evenly  under  it, 
steering  a  middle  course,  guarding  against 
splitting   on   the   rocks  on  either  hand. 

c  2 


84  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

Our  happiness  lies  not  in  any  earthly 
comfort,  nor  will  the  want  of  any  of  them 
render  us  miserable,  Hab.  iii.  17,  IB.  So 
that  we  are  resolutely  to  hold  on  our  way 
with  a  holy  contempt,  and  regardlessness 
of  the  hardships,  Job  xvii.  9.  i  The  righ- 
teous also  shall  hold  on  his  way,  and  he 
that  hath  clean  hands  shall  be  stronger 
and  stronger.' 

Quest.  '  When  is  one  to  be  reckoned  to 
fall  under  sinking  discouragement  from 
the  crook  in  his  lot?' 

Am.  When  it  prevails  so  far  as  to  unfit 
for  the  duties,  either  of  our  particular  or 
Christian  calling.  We  maybe  sure  it  has 
carried  us  beyond  the  bounds  of  moderate 
grief,  when  it  unfits  us  for  the  common 
affairs  of  life,  which  the  Lord  calls  us  to 
manage,  1  Cor.  vii.  24.  It  is  recorded  to 
the  commendation  of  Abraham,  Gen.  xxiii. 
3,  4.  Or  for  the  duties  of  religion,  hin- 
dering them  altogether,  1  Pet.  iii.  7.  '  That 
your  prayers  be  not  hindered,'  (Greek, 
cut  off,  or  up,  like  a  tree  from  the  roots,) 
or  making  one  quite  hopeless  in  them, 
Mal.ii.  13. 

3.  Profitably,  so  as  we  may  gain  some 
advantage  thereby,  Psa.  cxix.  71.     '  It  is 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  85 

good  for  me  that  I  have  been  afflicted; 
that  T  might  learn  thy  statutes.'  There  is 
an  advantage  to  be  made  thereby,  Rom. 
v.  3,  4,  5.  And  it  is  certainly  an  ill-ma- 
naged crook  in  our  lot,  when  we  get  not 
some  spiritual  good  of  it,  Heb.  xi.  21. 
The  crook  is  a  kind  of  spiritual  medicine; 
and  as  it  is  lost  physic  that  purges  away 
no  ill  humours,  but  in  vain  are  its  un- 
pleasantness to  the  taste  and  its  gripings 
endured;  so  it  is  a  lost  crook,  and  ill  is 
the  bitterness  of  it  tasted,  that  we  are  not 
bettered  by,  Isa.  xxvii.  9.  '  By  this,  there- 
fore, shall  the  iniquity  of  Jacob  be  purged, 
and  this  is  all  the  fruit,  to  take  away  his 
sin/ 

Motives  to  press  this  exhortation.  Con- 
sider, 

1.  There  will  be  no  evening  of  it  while 
God  sees  meet  to  continue  it.  Let  vis 
carry  under  it  as  we  will,  and  make  what 
sallies  we  please  in  the  case,  it  will  conti- 
nue immoveable,  as  fixed  with  bands  of 
iron  and  brass,  Job  xxii.  13, 14.  '  But  he 
is  of  one  mind,  and  who  can  turn  him  ? 
And  what  his  soul  desireth,  even  that  he 
doth.'  *  For  he  performeth  the  thing 
that  is  appointed    for    me;    and  many 


86  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

such  things  are  with  him/  Is  it  not  wis- 
dom then  to  make  the  best  we  may  of 
what  we  cannot  mend?  Make  a  virtue 
then  of  necessity.  What  is  not  to  be 
cured  must  be  endured,  and  should  with 
a  Christian  resignation. 

2.  An  awkward  carriage  under  it  no- 
tably increases  the  pain  of  it.  What 
makes  the  yoke  gall  our  necks,  but  that  we 
struggle  so  much  against  it,  and  cannot 
let  it  sit  at  ease  on  us,  Jer.  xxxi.  18.  How 
often  are  we,  in  that  case,  like  men  dash- 
ing their  heads  against  a  rock  to  remove 
it !  The  rock  stands  unmoved,  but  they 
are  wounded,  and  lose  exceedingly  by 
their  struggle.  Impatience  under  the 
crcok  lays  an  over-weight  on  the  burden, 
and  makes  it  heavier,  while  withal  it 
weakens  us,  and  makes  us  less  able  to 
bear  it. 

3.  The  crook  in  thy  lot  is  the  special 
trial  God  has  chosen  out  for  thee  to  take 
thy  measure  by,  1  Pet.  i.  6,7.  It  is  God's 
fire,  whereby  he  tries  what  metal  men  are 
of;  heaven's  touchstone  for  discovering 
of  true  and  counterfeit  Christians.  They 
may  bear,  and  go  through  several  trials, 
which  the  crook  in  the  lot  will  discover  to 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  87 

be  naught,  because,  by  no  means  they  can 
bear  that,  Mark  x.  21,22.  Think  then 
with  thyself  under  it.  Now,  here  the  trial 
of  my  state  turns ;  I  must  by  this,  be 
proved  either  sincere,  or  a  hypocrite  ;  for, 
can  any  be  a  cordial  subject  of  Christ, 
without  being  able  to  submit  his  lot  to 
him?  Do  not  all  who  sincerely  come  to 
Christ,  put  a  blank  in  his  hand  ?  Acts  ix.  6. 
Psal.xlvii.4.  And  does  he  not  tell  us, 
that  without  that  disposition  we  are  not  his 
disciples?  Luke  xiv.  26.  *  If  any  man 
come  to  me,  and  hate  not  his  father  and 
mother,  and  wife,  and  children,  and  bre- 
thren, and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own  life 
also,  he  cannot  be  my  disciple.'  Perhaps 
you  find  you  submit  to  any  thing  but  that ; 
and  will  not  that  but  mar  all?  Mark  x.  21. 
Did  ever  any  hear  of  a  sincere  closing 
with  Christ  with  a  reserve  or  exception  of 
one  thing,  wherein  they  behoved  to  be 
their  own  lords? 

Quest.  *  Is  that  disposition  then  a  qua- 
lification necessarily  pre-required  to  our 
believing :  And  if  so,  where  must  we  have 
it?  Can  we  work  it  out  of  our  natural 
powers?' 

Am.  No,  it  is  not  so ;  but  it  necessarily 


88  THE    CK.OOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

accompanies  and  goes  along  with  believ- 
ing, flowing  from  the  same  saving  illumi- 
nation in  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  where- 
by the  soul  is  brought  to  believe  on  him. 
Hereby  the  soul  sees  him  an  able  Saviour, 
so  trusts  on  him  for  salvation ;  the  right- 
ful Lord  and  infinitely  wise  Ruler,  and  so 
submits  the  lot  to  him,  Matth.  xiii.  45,46. 
The  soul  taking  him  for  a  Saviour,  takes 
him  also  for  a  Head  and  Ruler.  It  is 
Christ's  giving  himself  to  us,  and  our  re- 
ceiving him,  that  causes  us  to  quit  other 
things  to  and  for  him,  as  it  is  the  light 
dispels  the  darkness. 

Case.  '  Alas!  I  cannot  get  my  heart 
freely  to  submit  my  lot  to  him  in  that 
point.' 

Ans.  1.  That  submission  will  not  be 
carried  on  in  any  without  a  struggle ;  the 
old  man  will  never  submit  it,  and  when 
the  new  man  of  grace  is  submitting  it,  the 
old  man  will  still  be  reclaiming,  Gal.  v.  17. 
'  For  the  flesh  lusteth  against  the  spirit, 
and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh.  And 
these  are  contrary,  the  one  to  the  other; 
so  that  ye  cannot  do  the  things  that  ye 
would,'  but  are  sincerely  desirous  and  ha- 
bitually aiming  to  submit  it.    Do  ye,  from 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  89 

the  ungracious  struggle  against  the  crook, 
turn  away  to  the  struggle  with  your  own 
heart  to  bring  it  to  submit,  believing  the 
promise,  and  using  the  means  for  it,  being 
grieved  from  the  heart  with  yourselves, 
that  ye  cannot  submit  it?  This  is  submit- 
ting of  your  lot,  in  the  favourable  con- 
struction of  the  gospel,  Rom.vii.  17.  20. 
— 2  Cor.  viii.12.  If  ye  had  your  choice, 
would  ye  rather  have  your  heart  brought 
to  submit  to  the  crook,  than  the  crook 
evened  to  your  heart's  desire  ?  Horn.  vii. 
22,  23.  And  do  ye  not  sincerely  endea- 
vour to  submit  it,  notwithstanding  the  re- 
luctance of  the  flesh?  Gal.  v.  17. 

2.  Where  is  the  Christian  self-denial, 
and  taking  up  of  the  cross,  without  sub- 
mitting to  the  crook  ?  This  is  the  first  les- 
son Christ  puts  in  the  hands  of  his  disci- 
ples, Matth.  xvi.  24.  '  If  any  man  will 
come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and 
take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me.'  Self- 
denial  would  procure  a  reconciliation  with 
the  crook,  and  an  admittance  of  the  cross; 
but  while  we  cannot  bear  our  corrupt  self 
to  be  denied  any  of  its  cravings,  and  par- 
ticularly that  which  God  sees  meet  espe- 
cially to  be  denied  in,  we  cannot  bear  the 


90  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

crook  in  our  lot,  but  fight  against  it  in 
favour  of  self. 

3.  Where  is  our  conformity  to  Christ, 
while  we  cannot  submit  to  the  crook?  We 
cannot  evidence  ourselves  Christians, with- 
out conformity  to  Christ.  '  lie  that  saith 
he  abideth  in  him,  ought  himself  also  to 
walk,  even  as  he  walked,'  1  John  ii.  6. 
There  was  a  continued  crook  in  Christ's 
lot,  but  he  submitted  to  it,  Phil.  ii.  8. 
'  And  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man, 
he  humbled  himself  and  became  obedient 
unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross,' 
Rom .  xv.  3.  For  even  Christ  pleased  not 
himself  ,&cc.  And  so  must  we,  if  we  will 
prove  ourselves  Christians  indeed,  Matth. 
xi.  29— 2  Tim.  ii.  11,12. 

4.  How  will  we  prove  ourselves  the  ge- 
nuine kindly  children  of  God,  if  still  war- 
ring with  the  crook?  We  cannot  pray,  Our 
Father,  —  '\hy  will  be  done  on  earth,  as  it  is 
in  heaven,  Matth.  vi.  Nay,  the  language  of 
that  practice  is,  we  must  have  our  own 
will,  and  God's  will  cannot  satisfy  us. 

Motive  4.  The  trial  by  the  crook  here 
will  not  last  long,  1  Cor.  viii.  31.  What 
though  the  work  be  sore,  it  may  be  the 
better  comported  with,  that  it  will  not  be 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  91 

tedious ;  a  few  days  or  years  at  farthest, 
will  put  an  end  to  it,  and  take  you  off  your 
trials.  Do  not  say,  I  shall  never  be  eased 
of  it ;  for  if  ye  be  not  eased  before,  ye  will 
be  eased  of  it  at  death,  come  in  the  room 
of  it  after  what  will.  A  serious  view  of 
death  and  eternity  might  make  us  to  set 
ourselves  to  carry  rightly  under  our  crook 
while  itlasteth. 

5.  If  ye  would,  in  a  Christian  manner, 
set  yourselves  to  bear  the  crook,  ye  would 
find  it  easier  than  ye  imagine,  Matth.  xi. 
29,  30.  '  Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and 
learn  of  me,  and  ye  shall  find  rest  to  your 
souls.'  Verse  30.  '  For  my  yoke  is  easy, 
and  my  burden  is  light.'  Satan  has  no 
readier  way  to  gain  his  purpose,  than  to 
persuade  men  it  is  impossible,  that  ever 
their  minds  should  ply  with  the  crook ; 
that  it  is  a  burden  to  them,  altogether  in- 
supportable ;  as  long  as  you  believe  that, 
be  sure  ye  will  never  be  able  to  bear  it. 
But  the  Lord  makes  no  crock  in  the  lot 
of  any,  but  what  may  be  so  borne  of  them 
acceptably,  though  not  sinlessly  and  per- 
fectly, Matth.  xi.  30.  For  there  is  strength 
for  that  effect  secured  in  the  covenant, 
2  Cor.  iii.  5.,  Phil,  iv,  13.,  and  being  by 


92  HIE    CHOOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

faith  fetched  it  will  certainly  come,  Psal. 
xxviii.  7. 

6.  If  you  act  as  Christians  under  your 
crook  here,  you  will  not  lose  your  labour, 
but  get  a  full  reward  of  grace  in  the  other 
world,  through  Christ,  2  Tiro.ii.12.,  lCor. 
xv.  58.  There  is  a  blessing  pronounced 
on  him  that  endureth  on  this  very  ground, 
James  i.  12.  '  Blessed  is  the  man  that  en- 
dureth temptation  ;  for,  when  he  is  tried, 
he  shall  receive  the  crown  of  life  which 
the  Lord  hath  promised  to  them  that  love 
him.'  Heaven  is  the  place  into  which  those 
approved,  upon  the  trial  of  the  crook,  are 
received,  Romans  vii.  14.  \  The?e  are 
they  which  come  out  of  great  tribulation, 
and  have  washed  their  robes,  and  made 
them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.7 
When  we  come  there,  no  vestiges  of  it  will 
be  remaining  in  your  lot,  nor  will  ye  have 
the  least  uneasy  remembrance  of  it;  but 
it  will  accent  your  praises,  and  increase 
your  joy. 

7.  If  you  do  not  act  as  Christians  un- 
der it,  you  will  lose  your  souls  in  the  other 
world,  Jude,ver.  15,  16.  Those  who- are 
at  war  with  God  in  their  lot  here,  God 
will  have  war  with  them  for  ever.    If  they 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  93 

will  not  submit  to  his  yoke  here,  and  go 
quietly  under  it  he  will  wreathe  his  yoke 
about  their  neck  for  ever,  with  everlasting 
bonds  that  shall  never  beloosed,  Job  ix.  4. 

Lastly,  Whatever  crook  is  in  the  lot  of 
any,  it  is  very  likely  there  is  a  public  crook 
abiding  the  generation,  that  will  be  more 
trying.  This  is  a  day  of  sinning  beyond 
the  days  of  our  fathers;  a  day  wherein 
God  is  making  great  crooks  in  the  lot  of 
the  dearest  to  himself;  but  these  seem  to 
presage  such  a  general  public  crook  to  be 
abiding  the  generation,  as  will  make  our 
now  private  ones  of  very  little  weight, 
1  Peter  iv.  17,  18.  Therefore,  set  your- 
selves to  carry  rightly  under  the  crook  in 
your  lot. 

If  you  ask  what  way  one  may  reach 
that ;  for  direction  we  propose, 

Doct.III.  The  considering  the  crook  in 
the  lot,  as  the  woik  of  God,  is  a  proper 
means  to  bring  one  to  carry  rightly  un- 
der it. 

1.  What  is  it  to  consider  the  crook  as 
the  work  of  God,  we  take  it  up  in  these 
five  things : 


94  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

First,  An  enquiry  into  the  spring  whence 
it  riseth,  Gen.  xxv.  22.  Reason  and  re- 
ligion, both  teach  us,  not  only  to  notice 
the  crook,  which  we  cannot  avoid,  but  to 
consider  and  enquire  into  the  spring  of  it. 
Surely,  it  is  not  our  choice,  nor  do  we 
designedly  make  it  for  ourselves:  and  to 
ascribe  it  to  fortune  is  to  ascribe  it  to  no- 
thing :  it  is  not  sprung  of  itself,  but  sown 
by  one  hand  or  another  for  us,  Job  v.  6. 
And  we  are  to  notice  the  hand  from  whence 
it  comes. 

Secondly,  A  perceiving  of  the  hand  of 
God  in  it.  Whatever  hand  any  creature 
hath  therein,  we  ought  not  to  terminate 
our  view  in  them,  but  look  above  and 
beyond  them,  to  the  supreme  manager's 
agency  therein,  Job  i.  21.  Without  this 
we  make  a  god  of  the  creature  instru- 
mental of  the  crook,  looking  on  it  as  if 
it  were  the  first  cause,  which,  is  peculiar 
to  God,  Rom.  xi.  36,  and  bring  our- 
selves under  that  doom,  Psalm  xxviii.  5. 
1  Because  they  regard  not  the  works  of 
the  Lord,  nor  the  operation  of  his  hands, 
he  shall  destroy  them,  and  not  build  them 
up/ 

Thirdly,  A  representing  it  to  ourselves 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  95 

as  a  work  of  God,  whichhe  hath  wrought 
against  us  for  holy  and  wise  ends,  be- 
coming the  divine  perfections.  This  is 
to  take  it  by  the  right  handle,  to  repre- 
sent it  to  ourselves,  under  a  right  no- 
tion, from  whence  a  right  management 
under  it  may  spring.  It  can  never  be 
safe  to  overlook  God  in  it,  but  very  safe 
to  overlook  the  creature,  ascribing  it  unto 
God,  as  if  no  other  hand  were  in  it,  his 
being  always  the  principal  therein.  '  It 
is  the  Lord,  let  him  do  what  seemeth  him 
good.'  1  Sam.iii.  18.  Thus  David  over- 
looked Shimei,  and  looked  to  God  in  the 
matter  of  his  cursing,  as  one  would  the 
axe,  fixing  his  eyes  on  him  that  wielded  it. 
Here  two  things  are  to  come  into  consi- 
deration. 

\st.  The  decree  of  God,  purposing  that 
crook  for  us  from  eternity ;  '  for  he 
worketh  all  things  by  the  counsel  of  his 
own  will/  Eph.  i.  11.,  the  sealed  book 
in  which  are  written  all  the  black  lines 
that  make  the  crook.  Whatever  valley 
of  darkness,  grief,  and  sorrow  we  are 
carried  through,  we  are  to  look  on  them 
as  made  by  the  mountains  of  brass,  the 
immoveable  divine  purposes,  Zech.  vi.  1 : 


96  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

This  can  be  no  presumption  in  that  case,  if 
we  carry  it  no  further  than  the  event  goes 
in  our  sight  and  feeling ;  for  so  far  the 
book  is  opened  for  us  to  look  into. 

Indly,  The  providence  of  God  bringing 
to  pass  that  crook  for  us  in  time,  Amos 
iii.  6.  There  is  nothing  can  befal  us  with- 
out him  in  whom  we  live.  Whatever 
kind  of  agency  of  the  creatures  may  be 
in  the  making  of  our  crook,  whatever 
they  have  done  or  not  done  towards  it, 
he  is  the  spring  that  sets  all  the  created 
wheels  in  motion,  which  ceasing,  they 
would  all  stop:  though  he  is  still  infi- 
nitely pure  in  his  agency,  however  impure 
they  be  in  theirs.  Job  considered  both 
these,  ch.xxiii.  14. 

Fourthly,  A  continuing  in  the  thought 
of  it  as  such.  It  is  not  a  simple  glance 
of  the  eye,  but  a  contemplating  and  lei- 
surely viewing  of  it  as  his  work,  that  is 
the  proper  mean.     We  are  to  be, 

1st,  Habitually  impressed  with  this 
consideration  :  as  the  crook  is  some  last- 
ing grievance,  so  the  consideration  of  this 
as  the  remedy  should  be  habitually  kept 
up.  There  are  other  considerations  be- 
sides this  that  we  must  entertain,  so  that 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  97 

we  cannot  always  have  it  expressly  in 
our  mind :  but  we  must  lay  it  down  for 
a  rooted  principle,  according  to  which  we 
are  to  manage  the  crook,  and  keep  the 
heart  in  a  disposition,  whereby  it  may 
slip  into  our  minds,  as  occasion  calls,  ex- 
pressly. 

Idly,  Occasionally  exercised  in  it. 
Whenever  we  begin  to  feel  the  smart 
of  the  crook,  we  should  fetch  in  this  re- 
medy ;  when  the  yoke  begins  to  gall  the 
neck,  there  should  be  an  application  of 
this  spiritual  ointment.  And,  however 
often  the  former  comes  upon  us,  it  will 
be  our  wisdom  to  fetch  in  the  latter  as 
the  proper  remedy;  the  oftener  it  is  used 
it  will  more  easily  come  to  hand,  and  also 
be  the  more  effectual. 

Fifthly,  A  considering  it  for  the  endfov 
which  it  is  proposed  to  us,  namely,  to 
bring  to  a  dutiful  carriage  under  it. 
Men's  corruptions  will  cause  them  to  en- 
ter on  this  consideration :  and  as  is  the 
principle,  so  will  the  eud  and  effect  of  it 
be  corrupt,  2  Kings  vi.  33.  But  we  must 
enter  on,  and  use  it  for  a  good  end,  if  we 
would  have  good  of  it,  taking  it  as  a  prac- 

H 


98  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

tical  consideration  for  regulating  our  con- 
duct under  the  crook. 

II.  How  it  is  to  be  understood  to  be 
a  proper  means  to  bring  one  to  carry 
rightly  under  the  crook. 

1.  Negatively  ;  Not  as  if  it  were  suffi- 
cient of  itself,  and  as  it  stands  alone,  to 
produce  that  effect.     But, 

2.  Positively;  As  it  is  used  in  faith, 
in  the  faith  of  the  gospel ;  that  is  to  say, 
A  sinner's  bare  considering  the  crook  in 
his  lot  as  the  work  of  God,  without  any 
saving  relation  to  him,  will  never  be  away 
to  carry  himself  rightly  under  it :  but  hav- 
ing believed  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  so  the 
crook  as  the  work  of  God,  his  God,  is  the 
proper  means  to  bring  him  to  that  desir- 
able temper  and  behaviour.  Many  hearers 
mistake  here.  When  they  hear  such  and 
such  lawful  considerations  proposed  for 
bringing  them  to  duty,  they  presently 
imagine,  that  by  the  mere  force  of  them, 
they  may  gain  the  point.  And  many 
preachers  too,  who,  forgetting  Christ  and 
the  gospel,  pretend,  by  the  force  of  rea- 
son, to  make  men  Christians:  the  eyes 
of  both  being  held,  that  they  do  not  see 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  99 

the  corruption  of  men's  nature,  which 
is  such  as  sets  the  true  cure  above  the 
force  of  reason ;  all  that  they  are  sen- 
sible of,  being  some  ill  habits,  which  they 
think  may  be  shaken  off  by  a  vigorous  ap- 
plication of  their  rational  faculties.  To 
clear  this  matter,  consider, 

First,  Is  it  rational  to  think  to  set 
fallen  man,  with  his  corrupted  nature, 
to  work  the  same  way  with  innocent 
Adam  ?  That  is,  to  set  beggars  on  a  level 
with  the  rich,  lame  men  to  a  journey 
with  them  that  have  limbs.  Innocent 
Adam  had  a  stock  of  gracious  abilities, 
whereby  he  might  have,  by  the  force 
of  moral  considerations,  brought  himself 
to  perform  duty  aright.  But  where  is 
that  with  us?  2  Cor.  iii.  5.  Whatever 
force  be  in  them  to  a  soul  endowed  with 
spiritual  life,  what  force  is  in  them  to 
raise  the  dead,  such  as  we  are  ?  £ph. 
ii.  1. 

Secondly,  The  scripture  is  very  plain 
on  this  head,  showing  the  indispensable 
necessity  of  faith,  Heb.  xi.  —  And  that, 
such  as  unites  to  Christ,  John  xv.  5. 
'  Without  me/  that  is,  separate  from  me, 
'  ye  can  do  nothing;'  no,  not  with  all 
h2 


100  THE   CROOK   IN    THE    LOT. 

the  moral  considerations  ye  can  use. 
How  were  the  ten  commandments  given 
on  Mount  Sinai?  not  bare  exactions  of 
duty,  but  fronted  with  the  gospel,  to  be 
believed  in  the  first  place.  '  I  am  the  Lord 
thy  God/  &cc.  And  so  Solomon,  whom 
many  do  regard  rather  as  a  moral  phi- 
losopher, than  an  inspired  writer  lead- 
ing to  Christ,  fronts  his  writings,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  Proverbs,  with  most 
express  gospel.  And  we  must  have  it 
expressly  repeated  in  our  Bibles  with 
every  moral  precept,  or  else  shut  our 
eyes  and  take  these  precepts  without  it; 
that  is  the  effect  of  our  natural  enmity 
to  Christ.  If  we  loved  him  more,  we 
should  see  him  more  in  every  page,  and 
in  every  command,  receiving  the  law  at 
his  mouth. 

Thirdly,  Do  but  consider  what  it  is  to 
carry  ourselves  rightly  under  the  crook  in 
the  lot;  what  humiliation  of  soul,  self- 
denial,  and  absolute  resignation  to  the  will 
of  God,  must  be  in  it :  what  love  to  God 
it  must  proceed  from  :  how  regard  to  his 
glory  must  influence  it  as  the  chief  end 
thereof;  and  try,  and  see  if  it  is  not  im- 
possible for  you  to  reach  it  without  that 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  101 

faith  afore -mentioned.  I  know  a  Chris- 
tian may  reach  it  without  full  assurance: 
but  still,  according  to  the  measure  of 
their  persuasion  that  God  is  their  God, 
so  will  their  attainments  in  it  be ;  these 
keep  equal  pace.  O  what  kind  of  hearts 
do  they  imagine  themselves  to  have,  that 
think  they  can  for  a  moment  empty  them 
of  the  creature,  farther  than  they  can  fill 
them  with  a  God  as  their  God,  in  its 
room  and  stead  !  No  doubt  men  may, 
from  the  force  of  moral  considerations, 
work  themselves  to  a  behaviour  under  the 
crook,  externally  right,  such  as  many  Pa- 
gans had;  but  a  Christian  disposition  of 
spirit  under  it  will  never  be  reached,  with- 
out that  faith  in  God. 

Object.  *  Then  it  is  saints  only  that  are 
capable  of  improvement  of  that  consi- 
deration/ 

Ans.  Yea,  indeed  it  is  so,  as  to  that 
and  all  other  moral  considerations,  for 
true  Christian  ends:  and  that  amounts  to 
no  more,  than  that  directions  for  walking 
rightly  are  only  for  the  living,  that  have 
the  use  of  their  limbs  :  and  therefore,  that 
we  may  improve  it,  set  yourselves  to  be- 
lieve in  the  first  place. 


102  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

III.  I  shall  confirm  that  it  is  a  proper 
mean  to  bring  one  to  carry  rightly  under 
it.  This  will  appear,  if  we  consider  these 
four  things. 

1.  It  is  of  great  use  to  divert  from  the 
considering  and  dwelling  on  those  things 
about  the  crook,  which  serve  to  irritate 
our  corruption.  Such  are  the  baulking 
of  our  will  and  wishes,  the  satisfaction 
we  would  have  in  the  matter's  going  ac- 
cording to  our  mind,  the  instruments  of 
the  crook  how  injurious  they  are  to  us, 
how  unreasonable,  how  obstinate,  &c. 
The  dwelling  on  these  considerations  is 
but  the  blowing  of  fire  within  ;  but  to 
turn  our  eyes  to  it  as  the  work  of  God, 
would  be  a  cure  by  way  of  diversion, 
2  Sam.  vi.  9,  10,  and  such  diversion  of 
the  thoughts  is  not  only  lawful,  but  expe- 
dient and  necessary. 

2.  It  has  a  moral  aptitude  for  produc- 
ing the  good  effect.  Though  our  cure  is 
not  compassed  by  the  mere  force  of  rea- 
son ;  yet  it  is  carried  on,  not  by  a  brutal 
movement,  but  in  a  rational  way,  Eph. 
v.  14.  This  consideration  has  a  moral 
efficacy  on  our  reason,  it  is  fit  to  awe  us 
into  a  submission,  and  ministers  a  deal 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.         103 

of  argument  for  carrying  Christianly  un- 
der our  crook. 

3.  It  hath  a  divine  appointment  on  it 
for  that  end,  which  is  to  be  believed, 
Prov.  iii.  6.  So  the  text.  The  creature 
in  itself  is  an  efficacious  and  moveless 
thing,  a  mere  vanity.  Acts  xvii.  28. 
What  makes  any  thing  a  means  fit  for 
the  end,  is  a  word  of  divine  appoint- 
ment, Matth.  iv.  4.  To  use  any  thing 
then  for  an  end,  without  the  faith  of  this, 
is  to  make  a  god  of  the  creature ;  there- 
fore it  is  to  be  used  in  a  dependance 
on  God,  according  to  that  word  of  ap- 
pointment, 1  Tim.  iv.  4,  5.  And  every 
thing  is  fit  for  the  end  for  which  God 
has  appointed  it.  This  consideration  is 
appointed  for  that  end;  and  therefore  is 
a  fit  means  for  it. 

4.  The  Spirit  may  be  expected  to  work 
by  it,  and  does  work  by  it  in  them  that 
believe,  and  look  to  him  for  it,  forasmuch 
as  it  is  a  mean  of  his  own  appointment. 
Papists,  Legalists,  and  all  superstitious 
persons  devise  various  means  of  sanctifi- 
cation,  seeming  to  have,  or  really  having 
a  moral  fitness  for  the  same;  but  they 


104  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

are  quite  ineffectual,  because,  like  Abana 
and  Pharpar,  tbey  want  a  word  of  di- 
vine appointment  for  curing  us  of  our 
leprosy ;  therefore  the  Spirit  works  not 
by  them,  since  they  are  none  of  his  own 
tools,  but  devised  of  their  hearts.  And 
since  the  means  of  divine  appointment 
are  ineffectual,  without  the  Spirit,  these 
can  never  be  effectual.  But  this  consi- 
deration having  a  divine  appointment, 
the  Spirit  works  by  it. 

Use.  Then  take  this  direction  for  your 
carrying  right  under  the  crook  in  your 
lot.  Inure  yourselves  to  consider  it  as  the 
work  of  God.  And  for  helping  you  to 
improve  it,  so  as  it  may  be  effectual,  I 
offer  these  advices. 

1.  Consider  it  as  the  work  of  your  God 
in  Christ.  This  is  the  way  to  sprinkle 
it  with  gospel-grace,  and  so  to  make  it 
tolerable,  Psalm  xxii.  1,2,  3.  The  dis- 
cerning of  a  Father's  hand  in  the  crook 
will  take  out  much  of  the  bitterness  of 
it,  and  sugar  the  pill  to  you.  For  this 
cause  it  will  be  necessary,  (1.)  Solemnly 
to  take  God  for  your  God,  under  your 
crook,  Psalm  cxlii.  4,  5.    (2.)  In  all  your 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  105 

encounters  with  it,  resolutely  to  believe, 
and  claim  your  interest  in  him,  1  Sam. 
xxx.  6. 

2.  Enlarge  the  consideration  with  a 
view  of  the  divine  relations  to  you,  and 
the  divine  attributes.  Consider  it,  being 
the  work  of  your  God,  the  work  of  your 
Father,  elder  Brother,  Head,  Husband, 
&c,  who  therefore,  surely  consults  your 
good.  Consider  his  holiness  and  justice, 
shewing  he  wrongs  you  not;  his  mercy 
and  goodness,  that  it  is  not  worse;  his 
sovereignty,  that  may  silence  you;  his  in- 
finite wisdom  and  love,  that  may  satisfy 
you  in  it. 

3.  Consider  what  a  work  of  his  it  is, 
how  it  is  a  convincing  work,  for  bringing: 
sin  to  remembrance  ;  a  correcting  work, 
to  chastise  you  for  your  follies  ;  a  prevent- 
ing work,  to  hedge  you  up  from  courses 
of  sin  ye  would  otherwise  be  apt  to  run 
into;  a  trying  work,  to  discover  your  state, 
your  graces,  and  corruptions;  a  weaning 
work,  to  wean  you  from  the  world,  and 
fit  you  for  heaven. 

4.  In  all  your  considerations  of  it,  in 
this  manner  look  upward  for  his  Spirit, 


106  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

to  render  them  effectual,  1  Cor.  iii.  6. — 
Thus  may  ye  carry  Christianly  under  it, 
till  God  even  it  either  here  or  in  heaven.' 


Prov.  xvi.  19. 

Better  it  is  to  be  of  a  humble  spirit  with  the 
lowly,  than  to  divide  the  spoil  with  the 
proud. 

Could  men  once  be  brought  to  believe, 
that  it  is  better  to  have  their  minds 
brought  to  ply  with  the  crook  in  their 
lot,  than  to  force  even  the  crook  to  their 
mind,  they  would  then  be  in  a  fair  way 
to  bring  their  matters,  in  that  case,  to  a 
good  account.  Hear  then  the  divine  de- 
cision in  that  case  :  '  Better  it  is  to  be  of 
a  humble  spirit  with  the  lowly,  than  to 
divide  the  spoil  with  the  proud.'  In  which 
words, 

First,  There  is  a  comparison  instituted, 
and  that  between  two  parties,  and  two 
points,  wherein  they  vastly  differ. 

\st,  The  parties  are  the  lowly  and  the 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  107 

proud,  who  differ  as  heaven  from  earth  : 
the  proud  are  climbing  up  and  soaring 
aloft;  the  low  are  content  to  creep  on 
the  ground,  if  that  is  the  will  of  God. 
Let  us  view  them  more  particularly  as  the 
text  represents  them. 

(1.)  On  the  one  hand  is  the  lowly. 
Here  there  is  a  line  reading  and  a  mar- 
ginal, both,  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  they 
differ  only  in  a  letter.  The  former  is  the 
afflicted  or  poor,  that  are  low  in  their 
condition  ;  those  that  have  a  notable  crook 
in  their  lot  through  affliction  laid  on  them, 
whereby  their  condition  is  lowered  in  the 
world.  The  other  is  the  lowly  or  meek 
humble  ones,  who  are  low  in  their  spirit, 
as  well  as  their  condition,  and  so  have 
their  minds  brought  down  to  their  lot. 
Both  together  making  the  character  of 
this  lowly  party. 

(2.)  On  the  other  hand  is  the  proud, 
the  gay,  and  high-minded  ones.  It  is 
supposed  here,  that  they  are  crossed  too, 
and  have  crooks  in  their  lot ;  for,  dividing 
the  spoil  is  the  consequent  of  a  victory, 
and  a  victory  presupposes  a  battle. 

2nd,  The  points  wherein  these  parties 


108  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

are  supposed  to  differ;  viz.  being  of  a 
humble  spirit,  and  dividing  the  spoil. 

Afflicted  and  lowly  ones  may  some- 
times get  their  condition  changed,  may 
be  raised  up  on  high,  and  divide  the  spoil, 
as  Hannah,  Job,  &c.  The  proud  may 
sometimes  be  thrown  down  and  crushed, 
as  Pharaoh,  Nebuchadnezzar,  &c.  But 
that  is  not  the  question,  Whether  it  is 
better  to  be  raised  up  with  the  lowly,  or 
thrown  down  with  the  proud  ?  There 
would  be  no  difficulty  in  determining 
that.  But  the  question  is,  Whether  it  is 
better  to  be  of  a  low  and  humble  spirit, 
in  low  circumstances,  with  afflicted  hum- 
ble ones ;  or  to  divide  the  spoil,  and  get 
one's  will,  with  the  proud  ?  If  men  would 
speak  the  native  sentiments  of  their  hearts, 
that  question  would  be  determined  in  a 
contradiction  to  the  text.  The  points 
then  here  compared  and  set  against  ano- 
ther, are  these : — 

(1 .)  On  the  one  hand,  to  be  of  a  hum- 
ble spirit  with  afflicted  lowly  ones.  (Heb.) 
To  be  low  of  spirit;  for  the  word  prima- 
rily denotes  lowness  in  situation  or  state : 
so  the  point  here  proposed  is  to  be  with 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.         109 

or  in  the  state  of  afflicted  lowly  ones, 
having  the  spirit  brought  down  to  that 
low  lot ;  the  lowness  of  the  spirit  balancing 
the  lowness  of  one's  condition. 

(2.)  On  the  other  hand,  to  divide  the 
spoil  with  the  proud.  The  point  here 
proposed  is,  to  be  with  or  in  the  state  of 
the  proud,  having  their  lot  by  main  force 
brought  to  their  mind  ;  as  those  who,  tak- 
ing themselves  to  be  injured,  fight  it  out 
with  the  enemy,  overcome  and  divide  the 
spoil  according  to  their  will. 

Secondly,  The  decision  made,  wherein 
the  former  is  preferred  to  the  latter ; 
'  Better  it  is  to  be  of  a  humble  spirit  with 
the  lowly,  than  to  divide  the  spoil  with 
the  proud,'  &c.  If  these  two  parties  were 
set  before  us,  it  were  better  to  take  our 
lot  with  those  of  a  low  condition,  who 
have  their  spirits  brought  as  low  as  their 
lot,  than  with  those,  who,  being  of  a  proud 
and  high-bended  spirit,  have  their  lot 
brought  up  to  their  mind.  A  humble 
spirit  is  better  than  a  heightened  con- 
dition. 


110  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

Doct.  There  is  a  generation  of  lowly  af- 
Jiicted  ones,  having  their  spirit  lowered 
and  brought  down  to  their  lot,  whose 
case,  in  that  respect,  is  better  than  that 
of  the  proud  getting  their  will,  and  car- 
rying all  to  their  mind. 

I.  We  shall  consider  the  generation  of 
the  lowly  afflicted  ones,  having  their  spirit 
brought  down  to  their  lot.  And  we  shall, 

First,  Lay  down  some  general  consi- 
derations about  them. 

1.  There  is  such  a  generation  in  the 
world,  as  bad  as  the  world  is.  The  text 
expressly  mentions  them,  and  the  scrip- 
ture elsewhere,  makes  mention  of  them; 
as  Psalm,  ix.  12.  and  x.  12.  Matth.  v.  3. 
with  Luke  vi.  20.  Where  shall  we  seek 
them  ?  Not  in  heaven,  there  are  no  af- 
flicted ones  there;  nor  in  hell,  there  are 
no  lowly  or  humble  ones  there,  whose 
spirit  is  brought  to  their  lot.  In  this 
world  they  must  then  be,  where  the  state 
of  trial  is. 

2.  If  it  were  not  so,  Christ,  as  he  was 
in  the  world,  would  have  no  followers  in 
it.     He  was  the  head  of  that  generation 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  HI 

whom  they  all  copy  after;  '  Learn  of  me, 
for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart,1  Matth. 
ix.  29.  And  for  his  honour,  and  the 
honour  of  his  cross,  they  will  never  be 
wanting  while  the  world  stands,  Rom. 
viii.  29.  'Whom  he  did  foreknow  he  also 
did  predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the 
image  of  his  Son.'  His  image  lies  in  these 
two,  suffering  and  holiness,  whereof  low- 
liness is  a  chief  part. 

3.  Nevertheless  they  are  certainly  very 
rare  in  the  world.  Agur  observes,  that 
there  is  another  generation  (Prov.  xxx. 
13.  '  Their  eyes  are  lofty,  and  their 
eye-lids  lifted  up,)  quite  opposite  to 
them,  and  this  makes  the  greatest  com- 
pany by  far.  The  low  and  afflicted  lot  is 
not  so  very  rare,  but  the  lowly  dispo- 
sition of  spirit  is  rarely  yoked  with  it. 
Many  a  high-bended  spirit  keeps  on  the 
bend  in  spite  of  the  lowering  circum- 
stance. 

4.  They  can  be  no  more  in  number 
than  the  truly  godly ;  for  nothing  less  than 
the  power  of  divine  grace  can  bring  down 
men's  minds  from  their  native  height,  and 
make  their  will  pliant  to  the  will  of  God, 
2  Cor.  x.  4,  5.     Men  may  put  on  a  face 


112  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

of  submission  to  a  low  and  a  crossed  lot, 
because  they  cannot  help  it,  and  they  see 
it  is  in  vain  to  strive  :  but  to  bring  the 
spirit  truly  to  it,  must  be  the  effect  of 
humbling  grace. 

5.  Though  all  the  godly  are  of  that  ge- 
neration, yet  there  are  some  of  them  to 
whom  that  character  more  especially  be- 
longs. The  way  to  heaven  lies  through 
tribulation,  to  all,  Acts  xiv.  22,  and  all 
Christ's  followers  are  reconciled  to  it  not- 
withstanding, Luke  xiv.  26.  yet  there  are 
some  of  them  more  remarkably  disciplined 
than  others,  whose  spirit  however  is  here- 
by humbled  and  brought  down  to  their  lot, 
Psal.  cxxxi.  2.  '  Surely  I  have  behaved  and 
acquitted  myself  as  a  child  that  is  weaned 
of  his  mother  ;  my  soul  is  even  as  a  wean- 
ed child.'  Phil.  iv.  11,  12.  <  For  I  have 
learned,  in  whatsoever  state  I  am,  there- 
with to  be  content.  I  know  both  how  to 
be  abased,  and  I  know  how  to  abound: 
every  where,  and  in  all  things,  I  am  in- 
structed, both  to  be  full  and  to  be  hun- 
gry, both  to  abound  and  to  suffer  need.' 

6.  A  lowly  disposition  of  soul,  and 
habitual  aim  and  bent  of  the  heart  that 
way,  has  a  very  favourable  construction 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  113 

put  upon  it  in  heaven.  Should  we  look 
for  a  generation  perfectly  purged  of  pride 
and  risings  of  heart  against  their  adverse 
lot  at  any  time,  we  should  find  none  in 
this  world :  but  those  who  are  sincerely 
aiming  and  endeavouring  to  reach  it,  and 
keep  the  way  of  contented  submission, 
though  sometimes  they  are  blown  aside, 
and  returning  to  it  again,  God  accounts 
to  be  that  lowly  generation,  2  Cor.  vii. 
12.  James  v.  11. 

Secondly,  We  shall  enter  into  the  par- 
ticulars of  their  character.  There  are 
three  things  which  together  make  up 
their  character. 

1st,  Affliction  in  their  lot.  That  lowly 
generation  preferred  to  the  proud  and 
prosperous,  are  a  generation  of  afflicted 
ones,  whom  God  keeps  under  the  disci- 
pline of  the  covenant.  We  may  take  it 
up  in  these  two : — 

1.  There  is  a  yoke  of  affliction  of  one 
kind  or  other  oftentimes  upon  them,  Psal. 
lxxiii.  14.  If  there  be  silence  in  heaven, 
it  is  but  for  half  an  hour,  Rev.  viii.  1. 
God  is  frequently  visiting  them  as  a  mas- 
ter doth  his  scholars,  and  a  physician  his 
patients  ;  whereas  others  are  in  a  sort 
i 


114  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

overlooked  by  him,  Rev.  iii.  9.  They 
are  accustomed  to  the  yoke,  and  that  from 
the  time  they  enter  into  God's  family, 
Psal.  cxxix.  1,  2,  3.  God  sees  it  good 
for  them,  Lam.  iii.  27,  28. 

2.  There  is  a  particular  yoke  of  afflic- 
tion which  God  has  chosen  for  them,  that 
hangs  about  them,  and  is  seldom,  if  ever, 
taken  off  them,  Luke  ix.  23.  That  is  their 
special  trial,  the  crook  in  their  lot,  the 
yoke  which  lies  on  them  for  their  constant 
exercise.  Their  other  trials  may  be  ex- 
changed, but  that  is  a  weight  that  still 
hangs  about  them,  bowing  them  down. 

2dly, Lowliness  in  their  disposition  and 
tenor  of  spirit.  They  are  a  generation 
of  lowly  humble  ones,  whose  spirits  God 
has,  by  his  grace,  brought  down  from  their 
natural  height.     And  thus, 

1.  They  think  soberly  and  meanly  of 
themselves;  what  they  are,  2  Cor.  xii.  11.; 
what  they  can  do,  2  Cor.  iii.  5. ;  what 
they  are  worth,  Gen.  xxxii.  10. ;  and  what 
they  deserve,  Lam.  iii.  22.  Viewing  them- 
selves in  the  glass  of  the  divine  law  and 
perfection,  they  see  themselves  as  a  mass 
of  imperfection  and  sinfulness,  Job  xlii. 
5,  6. 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  115 

2.  They  think  highly  and  honourably  of 
God,  Psal..  cxliv.  3.  They  are  taught  by 
the  Spirit  what  God  is  ;  and  so  entertain 
elevated  thoughts  of  him.  They  consider 
him  as  the  Sovereign  of  the  world ;  his 
perfections  as  infinite ;  his  work  as  per- 
fect. They  look  on  him  as  the  fountain 
of  happiness,  as  a  God  in  Christ,  doing  all 
things  well ;  trusting  his  wisdom,  good- 
ness, and  love,  even  where  they  cannot 
see,  Heb.  xi.  8. 

3.  They  think  favourably  of  others,  as 
far  as  in  justice  they  may,  Phil.  ii.  3. 
Though  they  cannot  avoid  seeing  their 
glaring  faults,  yet  they  are  ready  withal 
to  acknowledge  their  excellencies,  and 
esteem  them  so  far.  And  because  they 
see  more  into  their  own  mercies  and  ad- 
vantages for  holiness,  and  misimproving 
thereof,  than  they  can  see  into  others,  they 
are  apt  to  look  on  others  as  better  than 
themselves,  all  circumstances  compared. 

4.  They  are  sunk  down  into  a  state  of 
subordination  to  God  and  his  will,  Psal. 
cxxxi.  1,  2.  Pride  sets  a  man  up  against 
God,  lowliness,  brings  him  back  to  his 
place,  and  lays  him  down  at  the  feet  of 
his  sovereign  Lord,  saying,   Thy  will  be 

12 


11G  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

done  on  earth,  Sec.  They  seek  no  more 
the  command,  but  are  content  that  God 
himself  sit  at  the  helm  of  their  affairs,  and 
manage  all  for  them,  Psal.  xlvii.  4. 

5.  They  are  not  bent  on  high  things, 
but  disposed  to  stoop  to  low  things,  Psal. 
exxxi.  1.  Lowliness  levels  the  towering 
imaginations,  which  pride  mounts  up 
against  heaven ;  draws  a  veil  over  all 
personal  worth  and  excellencies  before 
the  Lord,  and  yields  a  man's  all  to  the 
Lord,  to  be  as  stepping  stones  to  the 
throne  of  his  glory,  2  Sam.  xv.  25,  26. 

6.  They  are  apt  to  magnify  mercies 
bestowed  on  them,  Gen.  xxvii.  10.  Pride 
of  heart  overlooks  and  vilifies  mercies 
one  is  possessed  of,  and  fixeth  the  eye 
on  what  is  wanting  in  one's  condition, 
making  one  like  the  flies,  which  pass  over 
the  sound  places,  and  swarm  together  on 
the  sore.  On  the  contrary,  lowliness 
teaches  men  to  recount  the  mercies  they 
enjoy  in  the  lowest  condition,  and  to  set 
a  mark  on  the  good  things  they  possess, 
Jobii.10. 

3dh/,  A  spirit  brought  down  to  their 
lot.  Their  lot  is  a  low  and  afflicted  one; 
but  their  spirit  is  as  low,  being,  through 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  117 

grace,  brought  down  to  it.     We  may  take 
it  up  in  these  five  things. 

1.  They  submit  to  it  as  just,  Mic.  vii.  9. 
'  I  will  bear  the  indignation  of  the  Lord, 
because  I  have  sinned  against  him.' 
There  are  no  hardships  in  our  condition, 
but  we  have  procured  them  to  ourselves; 
and  it  is  therefore  just  we  kiss  the  rod, 
and  be  silent  under  it,  and  so  lower  our 
spirits  to  our  lot.  If  they  complain,  they 
have  their  complaints  on  themselves ; 
their  hearts  rise  not  up  against  the  Lord, 
far  less  do  they  open  their  mouths  against 
the  heavens.  They  justify  God,  and  con- 
demn themselves,  reverencing  his  holiness 
and  spotless  righteousness  in  his  pro- 
ceedings against  them. 

2.  They  go  quietly  under  it  as  tolerable, 
Lam.  iii.  26 — 29,  It  is  good  that  a  man 
should  both  hope  and  quietly  wait  for  the 
salvation  of  the  Lord.  It  is  good  for  a 
man  that  he  bear  the  yoke  in  his  youth. 
He  sitteth  alone,  and  keepeth  silence,  be- 
cause he  hath  borne  it  upon  him;  heputteth 
his  mouth  in  the  dust,  if  so  be  there  may  be 
hope.  While  the  unsubdued  spirit  rageth 
under  the  yoke  as  a  bullock  unaccus- 
tomed   to  it,  the  spirit  brought    to    the 


118         THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

lot,  goes  softly  under  it.  They  see  it  is 
of  the  Lord's  mercies  that  it  is  not  worse; 
they  take  up  the  naked  cross,  as  God  lays 
it  down,  without  those  over-weights  upon 
it  that  turbulent  passions  add  thereunto  ; 
and  so  it  becomes  really  more  easy  than 
they  thought  it  could  have  been,  like  a 
burden  fitted  to  the  back. 

3.  They  are  satisfied  in  it,  as  drawing 
their  comfort  from  another  than  their 
outward  condition,  even  as  the  house 
stands  fast,  when  the  prop  is  taken  away 
that  it  did  not  lean  upon.  '  Although  the 
fig-tree  should  not  blossom,  neither  fruit 
be  in  the  vines,  yet  I  will  rejoice  in  the 
Lord/  Hab.  iii.  17, 18.  Thus  did  David 
in  the  day  of  his  distress,  '  he  encouraged 
himself  in  the  Lord  his  God.7  1  Sam. 
xxx.  6.  It  is  an  argument  of  a  spirit  not 
brought  down  to  the  lot,  when  men  are 
damped  and  sunk  under  the  hardships  of 
it,  as  if  their  condition  in  the  world  were 
the  point  whereon  their  happiness  turned. 
It  is  want  of  mortification  that  makes 
their  comforts  to  wax  and  wane,  ebb  and 
flow,  according  to  the  various  appearances 
of  their  lot  in  the  world. 

4.  They  have  a  complacency  in  it,  as 


THE  CROOK  IN  THE  LOT.  119 

that  which  is  fit  and  good  for  them,  Isa. 
xxxix.  8.  2  Cor.  xii.  10.  Men  have  a  sort 
of  complacency  in  the  working  of  physic, 
though  it  may  be  painful ;  they  ration- 
ally think  with  themselves  that  it  is  good. 
and  best  for  them:  so  these  lowly  souls 
consider  their  afflicted  lot  as  a  spiritual 
medicine,  necessary,  fit,  and  good  for 
them;  yea,  best  for  them  for  the  time, 
since  it  is  ministered  by  their  heavenly 
Father;  and  so  they  reach  a  holy  com- 
placency in  their  low  afflicted  lot. 

The  lowly  spirit  extracts  this  sweet  out 
of  the  bitterness  in  his  lot,  considering 
how  the  Lord,  by  means  of  that  afflicting 
lot,  stops  the  provision  for  unruly  lusts, 
that  they  may  be  starved  :  how  he  cuts  off 
the  bye-channels,  that  the  whole  stream 
of  the  soul's  love  may  run  towards  him- 
self; how  he  pulls  off,  and  holds  off  the 
man's  burden  and  clog  of  earthly  com- 
forts, that  he  may  run  the  more  expe- 
ditiously the  way  to  heaven. 

5.  They  rest  in  it,  as  what  they  desire 
not  to  come  out  of,  till  the  God  that 
brought  them  into  it,  see  it  meet  to  bring 
them  out  with  his  good  will,  Isa.  xxviii. 
16,     Though  an  unsubdued  spirit's  time 


120  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

for  deliverance  is  always  ready,  a  hum- 
ble soul  will  be  afraid  of  being  taken  out 
of  its  afflicted  lot  too  soon,  It  will  not 
be  for  a  moving  for  a  change,  till  the  mov- 
ing of  the  heavens  bring  it  about;  so  this 
hinders  not  prayer,  and  the  use  of  ap- 
pointed means,  with  dependance  on  the 
Lord  ;  but  requires  faith,  hope,  patience, 
and  resignation,  2  Sam.  xv.  25,  26. 


the  proud  getting  their  will,  and  carrying 
all  to  their  mind.  And  in  their  character 
also  are  three  things. 

First,  There  are  crosses  in  their  lot. 
They  also  have  their  trials  allotted  them 
by  over-ruling  providence,  and  let  them 
be  in  what  circumstances  they  will  in  the 
world,  they  cannot  miss  them  altogether. 
For  consider, 

1.  The  confusion  and  vanity  brought 
into  the  creation  by  man's  sin,  have  made 
it  impossible  to  get  through  the  world, 
but  men  must  meet  with  what  will  ruffle 
them,  Eccles.  i.  14.  Sin  has  turned  the 
world  from  a  paradise  into  a  thicket, 
there  is  no  getting  through  without  being 
scratched.      As    gnats    in    the    summer 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  121 

will  fly  about  those  walking  abroad  in 
a  goodly  attire,  as  well  as  about  those  in 
sordid  apparel;  so  will  crosses  in  the 
world  meet  with  the  high  as  well  as  the 
low. 

2.  The  pride  of  their  heart  exposes 
them  particularly  to  crosses.  A  proud 
heart  will  make  a  cross  to  itself,  where 
a  lowly  soul  would  find  none,  Esth.  v. 
13.  It  will  make  a  real  cross  ten  times 
the  weight  it  would  be  to  the  humble. 
The  generation  of  the  proud  are  like 
nettles  and  thorn  hedges,  upon  which 
things  flying  about  do  fix,  while  they 
pass  over  low  and  plain  things :  so  none 
are  more  exposed  to  crosses  than  they, 
though  none  so  unfit  to  bear  them ;  as 
appears  from, 

Secondly,  Reigning  pride  in  their  spirit. 
Their  spirits  were  never  subdued  by  a 
work  of  thorough  humiliation,  they  re- 
main at  the  height  in  which  the  cor- 
ruption of  nature  sets  them :  hence  they 
can  by  no  means  bear  the  yoke  God 
lays  on  them.  The  neck  is  swollen  with 
the  ill  humours  of  pride  and  passion ; 
hence,  when  the  yoke  once  begins  to 
touch  it,  they  cannot  have  any  more  ease. 


122  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

We    may   view   the   case  of  the   proud 
generation  here  in  three  things. 

1.  They  have  an  over-value  for  them- 
selves ;  and  so  the  proud  mind  says,  The 
man  should  not  stoop  to  the  yoke  ;  it  is 
below  him.  What  a  swelling  vanity  is 
in  that,  Exod.  v.  2.  '  Who  is  the  Lord 
that  I  should  obey  his  voice?'  Hence 
a  work  of  humiliation  is  necessary  to 
make  one  take  the  yoke,  whether  of 
Christ's  precepts  or  providence.  The  first 
error  is  in  the  understanding ;  whence 
Solomon  ordinarily  calls  a  wicked  man  a 
fool ;  accordingly  the  first  stroke  in  con- 
version is  there  too,  by  conviction  to 
humble.  Men  are  bigger  in  their  own 
conceit,  than  they  are  indeed  ;  therefore 
God,  suiting  things  to  what  we  are  really, 
cannot  please  us. 

2.  They  have  an  unmortified  self-will, 
arising  from  that  over-value  for  them- 
selves, and  it  says,  he  will  not  stoop, 
Exod.  v.  2.  The  question  betwixt  hea- 
ven and  us  is,  Whether  God's  will  or 
our  own  must  carry  it?  Our  will  is  cor- 
rupt, God's  will  is  holy ;  they  cannot 
agree  in  one.  God  says  in  his  provi- 
dence, our  will  must  yield  to  his ;   but 


THE    CROOK.    IN    THE    LOT.  123 

that  it  will  not  do,  till  the  iron  sinew  in  it 
be  broken,  Rom.  vi.  7.,  Isa.  xlviii.  4. 

3.  They  have  a  crowd  of  unsubdued 
passions  taking  part  with  the  self-will; 
and  they  say,  He  shall  not  stoop,  Rom. 
vii.  8,  9.;  and  so  the  war  begins,  and 
there  is  a  field  of  battle  within  and  with- 
out the  man,  James  iv.  1. 

(1.)  A  holy  God  crosses  the  self-will 
of  the  proud  creatures  by  his  providence, 
over-ruling  and  disposing  of  things  con- 
trary to  their  inclination ;  sometimes  by 
his  own  immediate  hand,  as  in  the  case 
of  Cain,  Gen.  iv.  4,  5.,  sometimes  by 
the  hand  of  men  carrying  things  against 
their  mind,  as  in  the  case  of  Ahab,  to 
whom  Naboth  refused  his  vineyard.  1 
Kings  xxi.  4. 

(2.)  The  proud  heart  and  will,  unable 
to  submit  to  the  cross,  or  to  bear  to  be 
controuled,  rises  up  against  it,  and  fights 
for  the  mastery,  with  its  whole  force  of 
unmortified  passions.  The  design  is  to 
remove  the  cross,  even  the  crook,  and 
bring  the  thing  to  their  own  mind:  this 
is  the  cause  of  this  unholy  war,  in  which, 

1.  There  is  one  black,  band  of  hellish 
passions   that    marches    upwards,    and 


124  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

makes  an  attack  on  heaven  itself,  viz. 
discontent,  impatience,  murmuring,  fret- 
tings,  and  the  like.  '  The  foolishness  of 
man  perverteth  his  way ;  and  his  heart 
fretteth  against  the  Lord,  Prov.  xix.  3. 
These  fire  the  breast,  cause  the  counte- 
nance to  fall,  Gen.  iv.  6.,  let  off  sometimes 
a  volley  of  indecent  and  passionate  com- 
plaints, Jude,  ver.  16.,  and  sometimes 
of  blasphemies,  2  Kings  vi.  33. 

2.  There  is  another  that  marches  for- 
ward, and  makes  an  attack  on  the  in- 
strument or  instruments  of  the  cross, 
namely,  anger,  wrath,  fury,  revenge,  bit- 
terness, &c.  Prov.  xxvii.  4.  These  carry 
the  man  out  of  the  possession  of  himself, 
Luke  xxi.  19.  fill  the  heart  with  a  boil- 
ing heat,  Psa.  xxxix.  3.  the  mouth  with 
clamour  and  evil  speaking,  Eph.  iv.  31. 
and  threatenings  are  breathed  out,  Acts 
ix.  1.  and  sometimes  set  the  hands  on 
work,  which  has  a  most  heavy  event, 
Matth.  v.  21,  22,  as  in  the  case  of  Ahab 
against  Naboth. 

Thus  the  proud  carry  on  the  war,  but 
oftentimes  they  lose  the  day,  and  the 
cross  remains  immoveable  for  all  they 
can  do ;  yea,  and  sometimes  they  them- 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  125 

selves  fall  in  the  quarrel,  it  ends  in  their 
ruin,  Exod.  xv.  9,  10.  But  that  is  not 
the  case  in  the  text.  We  are  to  consider 
them  as, 

Thirdly,  Getting  their  will,  and  carry- 
ing all  to  their  mind.     This  speaks, 

1.  Holy  providence  yielding  to  the 
man's  unmortined  self-will,  and  letting 
it  go  according  to  his  mind,  Gen.  vi.  3. 
God  sees  it  meet  to  let  the  struggle  with 
him  fall,  for  it  prevails  not  to  his  good, 
Isa.  i.  5.  So  the  reins  are  laid  on  the 
proud  man's  neck,  and  he  has  what  he 
would ;  *  Ephraim  is  joined  to  idols,  let 
him  alone,'  Hos.  iv.  17. 

2.  The  lust  remaining  in  its  strength 
and  vigour,  Psal.  lxxxviii.  30.  '  They 
were  not  estranged  from  their  lust.'  God, 
in  the  method  of  his  covenant,  some- 
times gives  his  people  their  will,  and  sets 
them  where  they  would  be;  but  then, 
in  that  case,  the  lust  for  the  thing  is  mor- 
tified, and  they  are  as  weaned  children, 
Psal.  x.  17.  But  here  the  lust  remains 
rampant :  the  proud  seek  meat  for  it, 
and  get  it. 

3.  The  cross  removed,  the  yoke  taken 
off,  Psalm  lxxxviii.  29.     They  could  not 


126  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 


but  they  thwarted  with  it,  wrestled  and 
fought  against  it,  till  it  is  brought  up  to 
their  mind  :  So  the  day  is  their  own,  the 
victory  is  on  their  side. 

4.  The  man  is  pleased  at  having  car- 
ried his  point,  even  as  one  is  when  he  is 
dividing  the  spoil,  1  Kings  xxi.  18,  19. 

Thus  the  case  of  the  afflicted  lowly 
generation,  and  the  proud  generation 
prospering,  is  stated.     Now, 

III.  I  am  to  confirm  the  doctrine,  or 
the  decision  of  the  text,  That  the  case 
of  the  former  is  better  than  that  of  the 
latter.  It  is  better  to  be  in  a  low  af- 
flicted condition,  with  the  spirit  humbled 
and  brought  down  to  the  lot,  than  to  be 
of  a  proud  and  high  spirit,  getting  the 
lot  brought  up  to  it,  and  matters  go  to 
will  and  wish  according  to  one's  mind. 
This  will  appear  from  the  following  con- 
siderations. 

1st,  Humility  is  so  far  preferable  to 
pride,  that  in  no  circumstances  whatso- 
ever its  preferableness  can  fail.  Let  all 
the  afflictions  in  the  world  attend  the  hum- 
ble spirit,  and  all  the  prosperity  in  the 
world  attend    pride,  humility   will  still 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  127 

have  the  better :  as  gold  in  a  dunghill  is 
more  excellent  than  so  much  lead  in  a 
cabinet,  For, 

1.  Humility  is  a  piece  of  the  image  of 
God.  Pride  is  the  master-piece  of  the 
image  of  the  devil.  Let  us  view  him 
who  was  the  express  image  of  the  Fa- 
ther's person,  and  we  shall  behold  him 
meek  and  lowly  in  heart,  Matth.  xi.  29. 
None  more  afflicted,  yet  his  spirit  per- 
fectly brought  down  to  his  lot,  Isa.  liii.  7. 
1  He  was  oppressed,  and  he  was  af- 
flicted, yet  he  opened  not  his  mouth/ 
That  is  a  shining  piece  of  the  divine 
image :  for  though  God  cannot  be  low 
in  respect  of  his  state  and  condition,  yet 
he  is  of  infinite  condescension,  Isaiah 
lviii.  15.  None  bears  as  he,  Rom.  ii.  4. 
nor  suffers  patiently  so  much  contradic- 
tion to  his  will,  which  is  proposed  to  us 
for  our  encouragement  in  affliction,  as 
it  shone  in  Christ.  '  For  consider  him 
that  endured  so  much  contradiction  of 
sinners  against  himself,  lest  ye  be  wearied 
and  faint  in  your  minds/  Heb.  xii.  3. 

Pride,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  very 
image  of  the  devil,  1  Tim.  iii.  6.  Will 
we  value  ourselves  on  the  height  of  our 


128  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

spirits  ?  Satan  will  vie  with  the  highest  of 
us  in  that  point ;  for  though  he  is  the  most 
miserable,  yet  he  is  the  proudest  in  the 
whole  creation.  There  is  the  greatest 
distance  between  his  spirit  and  his  lot; 
the  former  is  as  high  as  the  throne  of 
God,  the  latter  as  low  as  hell :  and  as  it 
is  impossible  that  ever  his  lot  should  be 
brought  up  to  his  spirit ;  so  his  spirit 
will  never  come  down  to  his  lot :  and 
therefore  he  will  be  eternally  in  a  state 
of  war  with  his  lot.  Hence,  even  at  this 
time,  he  has  no  rest,  but  goes  about, 
seeking  rest  indeed,  but  finding  none. 

Now,  is  it  not  better  to  be  like  God 
than  like  the  devil  ?  Like  him  who  is  the 
fountain  of  all  good,  than  him  who  is  the 
spring  and  sink  of  all  evil  ?  Can  any  thing 
possibly  cast  the  balance  here,  and  turn 
the  preference  to  the  other  side?  '  Then 
better  is  it  to  be  of  a  humble  spirit  with 
the  lowly,  &c.' 

2.  Humility  and  lowliness  of  spirit  qua- 
lify us  for  friendly  communion  and  inter- 
course with  God  in  Christ.  Pride  makes 
God  our  enemy,  1  Pet.  v.  5.  (Air  happi- 
ness here  and  hereafter  depends  on  our 
frienclly  intercourse  with  heaven.     If  we 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  129 

have  not  that,  nothing  can  make  up  our 
loss,  Psal.  xxx.  5.  If  we  have  that,  no- 
thing can  make  us  miserable,  Rom.  viii. 
31.  'If  God  be  for  us, who  can  be  against 
us?'  Now,  who  are  they  whom  God  is  for 
but  the  humble  and  lowly?  they  who  be- 
ing in  Christ  are  so  made  like  him.  He 
blesses  them,  and  declares  them  the  heirs 
of  the  crown  of  glory :  '  blessed  are  the 
poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven/  Matth.  v.  3.  He  will  look  to 
them,  be  their  condition  ever  so  low,  while 
he  overlooks  others,  Isai.  lxvi.  2.  He 
will  have  respect  to  them,  however  they 
be  despised  :  *  Though  the  Lord  be  high, 
yet  hath  he  respect  to  the  lowly ;  but  the 
proud  he  knoweth  afar  off,'  Psal.  cxxxviii. 
6.  He  will  dwell  with  them,  however 
poorly  they  dwell,  Isai.  lvii.  15.  He  will 
certainly  exalt  them  in  due  time,  however 
low  they  lie  now,  Isai.  xl.  4. 

Whom  is  he  against?  Whom  does  he 
resist?  The  proud.  Them  he  curseth, 
Jer.  xvii.  5.  and  that  curse  will  dry  up 
their  arm  at  length.  The  proud  man  is 
God's  rival;  he  makes  himself  his  own 
God,  and  would  have  those  about  him 
make  him  theirs  too;  he  rages,  he  blusters 

K 


130  THE   CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

if  they  will  not  fall  down  before  him.  But 
God  will  bring  him  down,  Isai.  xl.  4., 
Psal.  xviii.  27. 

Now,  is  it  not  better  to  be  qualified  for 
communion  with  God,  than  to  have  him 
engaged  against  us,  at  any  rate? 

3.  Humility  is  a  duty  pleasing  to  God, 
pride  a  sin  pleasing  to  the  devil,  Isai.  lvii. 
15.,  1  Tim.  iii.  6.  God  requires  us  to  be 
humble,  especially  under  affliction,  '  and 
to  be  clothed  with  humility,'  1  Pet.  v.  5, 
6.  That  is  our  becoming  garment.  The 
humble  Publican  was  accepted,  the  proud 
Pharisee  rejected.  We  may  say  of  the 
generation  of  the  proud,  as  1  Thess.  ii.  16. 
*  Wrath  is  come  upon  them  to  the  utter- 
most.' They  please  neither  God  nor  men, 
but  only  themselves  and  Satan,  whom 
they  resemble  in  it.  Now  duty  is  better 
than  sin  at  any  rate. 

Idly,  They  whose  spirits  are  brought 
down  to  their  afflicted  lot,  have  much 
quiet  and  repose  of  mind,  while  the  proud, 
that  must  have  their  lot  brought  up  to 
their  mind,  have  much  disquiet,  trouble, 
and  vexation.  Consider  here,  that,  on 
the  one  hand, 

1.  Quiet  of  mind,  and  ease  within,  is  a 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  131 

great  blessing,  upon  which  the  comfort  of 
life  depends.  Nothing  without  this  can 
make  one's  life  happy,  Dan.  v.  6.  And 
where  this  is  maintained  nothing  can  make 
it  miserable,  John  xvi.  33.  This  being 
secured  in  God,  there  is  a  defiance  bid  to 
all  the  troubles  of  the  world,  Psalm  xlvi. 
2, 3, 4.  Like  the  child  sailing  in  the  midst 
of  the  rolling  waves. 

2.  The  spirit  brought  down  to  the  lot 
makes  and  maintains  this  inward  tranquil- 
lity. Our  whole  trouble  in  our  lot  in  the 
world  riseth  from  the  disagreement  of  our 
mind  therewith;  let  the  mind  be  brought 
to  the  lot,  and  the  whole  tumult  is  in- 
stantly hushed;  let  it  be  kept  in  that  dis- 
position, and  the  man  shall  stand  at  ease 
in  his  affliction,  like  a  rock  unmoved  with 
waters  beating  on  it,  Col.  iii.  15.  '  And 
let  the  peace  of  God  rule  in  your  hearts, 
to  the  which  also  ye  are  called/ 

On  the  other  hand  consider, 

1.  What  disquiet  of  mind  the  proud  do 
suffer  ere  they  can  get  their  lot  brought 
up  to  their  mind.  '  They  have  taught  their 
tongues  to  speak  lies,  and  they  weary 
themselves  to  commit  iniquity,'  Jer.  ix.  5., 
James  iv.  2.  '  Ye  lust,  and  have  not:  ye 
k  2 


132  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

kill,  and  desire  to  have,  and  cannot  ob- 
tain; ye  fight  and  war,  yet  ye  have  not/ 
What  arrows  of  grief  go  through  their 
heart !  what  torture  of  anxiety,  fretting, 
and  vexation,  must  they  endure!  what 
contrary  passions  do  fight  within  them ! 
and  what  sallies  of  passions  do  they 
make!  what  uneasiness  was  Haman  in, 
before  he  could  carry  the  point  of  the 
revenge  against  Mordecai,  obtaining  the 
king's  decree! 

2.  When  the  thing  is  got  to  their  mind, 
it  will  not  quit  the  cost.  The  enjoyment 
thereof  brings  not  so  much  satisfaction 
and  pleasure,  as  the  want  of  it  gave  pain. 
This  was  evident  in  Rachel's  case,  as  to 
the  having  of  children  ;  and  in  that  case, 
Psal.  lxxviii.  30,  31.  There  is  a  dead  fly 
in  the  ointment  that  mars  the  savour  they 
expected  to  find  in  it.  Fruit  plucked  off 
the  tree  of  providence,  ere  it  is  ripe,  will 
readily  set  the  teeth  on  edge.  It  proves 
like  the  manna  kept  over  night,  Exod.xvi. 
20. 

3.  They  have  but  an  unsure  hold  of  it; 
it  doth  not  last  with  them.  Either  it  is 
taken  from  them  soon,  and  they  are  just 
where  they  were  again  :  '  I  gave  thee  a 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  133 

king  in  my  anger,  and  took  him  away  in 
my  wrath,'  Hos.  xiii.  11.  Having  a  root 
of  pride,  it  quickly  withers  away  ;  or  else 
they  are  taken  from  it,  that  they  have  no 
access  to  enjoy  it:  so  Haman  obtained 
the  decree ;  but  ere  the  day  of  the  execu- 
tion came,  he  was  gone. 

3dly,  They  that  get  their  spirit  brought 
down  to  their  afflicted  lot,  do  gain  a  point 
far  more  valuable  than  they  who  in  their 
pride  force  up  their  lot  to  their  mind, 
Prov.  xvi.  32.  He  that  is  slow  to  anger, 
f  is  better  than  the  mighty;  and  he  that 
ruleth  his  spirit,  than  he  that  taketh  a 
city.'    This  will  appear,  if  you  consider, 

1.  The  latter  makes  but  a  better  condi- 
tion in  outward  things,  the  former  makes 
a  better  man.  The  life  is  more  than  meat. 
• — The  man  himself  is  more  valuable  than 
all  external  conveniences  that  attend  him. 
What  therefore  betters  the  man  is  prefer- 
able to  what  betters  only  his  condition. 
Who  doubts,  but  where  two  are  sick,  and 
the  one  get  himself  transported  from  a 
coarse  bed  to  a  fine  one,  but  the  sickness, 
still  remaining;  the  other  lies  still  in  the 
coarse  bed,  but  the  sickness  is  removed, 


134  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

that  the  case  of  the  latter  is  preferable  ? 
So  it  is  here. 

2.  The  subduing  of  our  own  passion  is 
more  excellent  than  to  have  the  whole 
world  subdued  to  our  will:  for  then  we 
are  masters  of  ourselves,  according  to  that, 
Luke  xxi.  19.  Whereas,  in  the  other  case, 
we  are  still  slaves  to  the  worst  of  masters, 
Rom.  vi.  16.  In  the  one  case  we  are  safe, 
blow  what  storm  will;  in  the  other  we  lie 
exposed  to  thousands  of  dangers,  Prov. 
xxv.  28.  '  He  that  hath  no  rule  over  his 
own  spirit,  is  like  a  city  that  is  broken 
down,  and  without  walls.' 

3.  When  both  shall  come  to  be  judged, 
it  will  appear  the  one  has  multiplied  the 
tale  of  their  good  works,  in  bringing  their 
spirit  to  their  lot;  the  other,  the  tale  of 
their  ill  works,  in  bringing  their  lot  to  their 
spirit.  We  have  to  do  with  an  omniscient 
God,  in  whose  eyes  every  internal  action 
is  a  work,  good  or  bad,  to  be  reckoned 
for,  Horn.  ii.  16. 

An  afflicted  lot  is  painful,  but,  where  it 
is  well  managed,  it  is  very  fruitful ;  it  ex- 
ercises the  graces  of  the  Spirit  in  a  Chris- 
tian, which  otherwise  would  lie  dormant. 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  135 

But  there  is  never  an  act  of  resignation  to 
the  will  of  God  under  the  cross,  nor  an 
act  of  trusting  in  him  for  his  help,  but 
they  will  be  recorded  in  heaven's  register 
as  good  works,  Mai.  iii.  16.  And  these  are 
occasioned  by  affliction. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  never  a  ris- 
ing of  the  proud  heart  against  the  lot,  nor 
a  faithless  attempt  to  bring  it  to  our  mind, 
whether  it  succeed  or  not,  but  it  passes  for 
an  ill  work  before  God.  How  then  will 
the  tale  of  such  be  multiplied  by  the  war 
in  which  the  spoil  is  divided ! 

Use  1 .  Of  information.  Hence  we  may 
learn, 

1.  It  is  not  always  best  for  folk  to  get 
their  will.  Many  there  are  who  cannot 
be  pleased  with  God's  will  about  them, 
and  they  get  their  own  will  with  a  ven- 
geance, Psal.lxxxi.  11,  12.  '  Israel  would 
none  of  me,  so  I  gave  them  up  to  their 
own  hearts'  lust;  and  they  walked  in  their 
own  counsels.'  It  may  be  pleasantest  and 
gratefullest  for  the  time,  but  it  is  not 
the  safest.  Let  not  people  pride  them- 
selves in  their  carrying  things  that  way 
then  by  strong  hand;  let  them  not  triumph 


136  THE    CROOK    IN    THE   LOT. 

on  such  victory,  the  after-reckoning  will 
open  their  eyes. 

2.  The  afflicted  crossed  party,  whose 
lot  is  kept  low,  is  so  far  from  being  a 
loser,  that  he  is  a  gainer  thereby,  if  his 
spirit  is  brought  down  to  it.  And  if  he 
will  see  his  case  in  the  light  of  God's  un- 
erring word,  he  is  in  better  case  than  if 
he  had  got  all  carried  to  his  mind.  In 
the  one  way  the  vessels  of  wrath  are  fitted 
for  destruction,  Ps.  lxxviii.  29,  30,  31. 
In  the  other,  the  vessels  of  mercy  are  fitted 
for  glory,  and  so  God  disciplines  his 
own,  Lam.  iii.  27. 

3.  It  is  better  to  yield  to  Providence 
than  to  fight  it  out,  though  we  should  win. 
Yielding  to  the  sovereign  disposal  is  both 
our  becoming  duty  and  our  greatest  in- 
terest. Taking  that  way,  we  act  most  ho- 
nourably ;  for  what  honour  can  there  be 
in  the  creature's  disputing  his  ground  with 
his  Creator?  and  we  act  most  wisely  ;  for 
whatever  may  be  the  success  of  some 
battles  in  that  case,  we  may  be  sure  vic- 
tory will  be  on  heaven's  side  in  the  war, 
1  Sam.  ii.  9.  '  For,  by  strength  shall  no 
man  prevail.' 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  137 

Lastly,  It  is  of  far  greater  concern  for 
us  to  get  our  spirits  brought  down  than 
our  outward  condition  raised.  But  who 
believes  this  ?  All  men  strive  to  raise  their 
outward  condition  ;  most  men  never  mind 
the  bringing  down  of  their  spirits,  and 
few  there  are  who  apply  themselves  to  it. 
And  what  is  that  but  to  be  concerned  to 
minister  drink  to  the  thirsty  sick,  but 
never  to  mind  to  seek  a  cure  for  them, 
whereby  their  thirst  may  be  carried  off. 

Use  2.  Of  exhortation.  As  you  meet 
with  crosses  in  your  lot  in  the  world,  let 
your  bent  be  rather  to  have  your  spirit 
humbled  and  brought  down,  than  to  get 
the  cross  removed.  I  mean  not  but  that 
you  may  use  all  lawful  means  for  the  re- 
moval of  your  cross,  in  dependance  on 
God;  but  only  that  you  be  more  con- 
cerned to  get  your  spirit  to  bow  and 
ply,  than  to  get  the  crook  in  your  lot 
evened. 

Motive  1.  It  is  far  more  needful  for  us 
to  have  our  spirits  humbled  under  the 
cross,  than  to  have  the  cross  removed. 
The  removal  of  the  cross  is  needful  only 
for  the  ease  of  the  flesh,  the  humbling  for 
the  profit  of  our  souls,  to  purify  them, 


138  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

and  bring  them  into  a  state  of  health  and 
cure. 

2.  The  humbling  of  the  spirit  will  have 
a  mighty  good  effect  on  a  crossed  lot,  but 
the  removal  of  the  cross  will  have  none 
on  the  unhumbled  spirit.  The  humbling 
will  lighten  the  cross  mightily  for  the  time, 
Matth.  xi.  30.  and  in  due  time  carry  it 
cleanly  off,  1  Pet.  v.  6.  But  the  removal 
of  the  cross  is  not  a  means  to  humble  the 
unhumbled  ;  though  it  may  prevent  irri- 
tation, yet  the  disease  still  remains. 

3.  Think  with  yourselves  how  danger- 
ous and  hopeless  a  case  it  is  to  have  the 
cross  removed  ere  the  spirit  is  humbled  ; 
that  is  to  have  the  means  of  cure  pulled 
away  and  blocked  up  from  us,  while  the 
power  of  the  disease  is  yet  unbroken  ;  to 
be  taken  off  trials  ere  we  have  given  any 
good  proof  of  ourselves,  and  so  to  be 
given  over  of  our  physician  as  hopeless, 
Isai.  i.  5.  Hos.  iv.  17. 

Use  3.  For  direction.  Believing  the 
gospel,  take  God  for  your  God  in  Christ 
towards  your  eternal  salvation,  and  then 
dwell  much  on  the  thoughts  of  God's 
greatness  and  holiness,  and  of  your  own 
sinfulness ;  so  will  you  be  humbled  wider 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  139 

the  mighty  hand  of  God;  and  in  due  time, 
he  will  lift  you  up. 


1  Peter,  v.  6. 

Humble  yourselves  therefore  under  the 
mighty  hand  of  God,  that  he  may  exalt 
you  in  due  time. 

In  the  preceding  part  of  this  chapter,  the 
apostle  presseth  the  duties  of  the  church 
officers  towards  the  people  ;  and  then  the 
duty  of  the  people,  both  towards  their 
officers,  and  among  themselves,  which  he 
winds  up  in  one  word,  submission.  For 
■which  cause  he  recommends  humility  as 
the  great  means  to  bring  all  to  their  re- 
spective duties.  This  is  enforced  with  an 
argument  taken  from  the  different  treat- 
ment the  Lord  gives  to  the  proud  and 
humble;  his  opposing  himself  to  the  one, 
and  shewing  favour  to  the  other.  Our 
text  is  an  exhortation  drawn  from  that 
consideration  :  and  in  it  we  have, 

1st,  The  duty  we  are  therefore  to  study  : 
hwnbleyourselvesthereforetwider  the  mighty 


140  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

hand  of  God,  that  he  may  exult  you  in  due 
time.     And  therein  we  may  notice, 

1.  The  state  of  those  whom  it  is  pro- 
posed to,  those  under  the  mighty  hand  of 
God,  whom  his  hand  has  humbled,  or 
stated  some  way  low  in  respect  of  their 
circumstances  in  the  world.  And  by 
these  are,  I  think,  meant,  not  only  such  as 
are  under  particular  signal  afflictions, 
which  is  the  lot  of  some,  but  also  those 
who,  by  the  providence  of  God,  are  any 
manner  of  way  lowered,  which  is  the  lot 
of  all.  All  being  in  a  state  of  submission 
or  dependance  on  others,  God  has  made 
this  life  a  state  of  trial ;  and  for  that  cause 
he  has,  by  his  mighty  hand,  subjected  men 
one  to  another,  as  wives,  children,  ser- 
vants, to  husbands,  parents,  masters ;  and 
these  again  to  their  superiors;  among 
whom,  again,  even  the  highest  depends 
on  those  under  them,  as  magistrates  and 
ministers  on  the  people,  even  the  supreme 
magistrate  being  major  singulis,  minor 
universis.  This  state  of  the  world  God 
has  made  for  taking  trial  of  men  in  their 
several  stations  and  dependance  on  others; 
and  therefore,  when  the  time  of  trial  is 
over,  it  also  comes  to  an  end.    '  Then 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  141 

cometh  the  end — when  he  shall  have  put 
down  all  rule,  and  authority,  and  power,' 
1  Cor.  xv.  24,  25.  Meantime,  while  it 
lasts,  it  makes  humility  necessary  to  all, 
to  prompt  them  to  the  duty  they  owe  their 
superiors,  to  whom  God's  mighty  hand 
has  subjected  them. 

2.  The  duty  itself,  viz.  Humiliation  of 
our  spirits  under  the  humbling  circum- 
stances the  Lord  has  placed  us  in.  Hum- 
ble yourselves  therefore  under  the  mighty 
hand  of  God,  that  he  may  exalt  you  in  due 
time.  Whether  it  is  we  are  under  parti- 
cular afflictions,  which  have  cast  us  down 
from  the  height  we  were  sometimes  in,  or 
whether  we  are  only  inferiors  in  one  or 
more  relations;  or  whether,  which  is  most 
common,  both  these  are  in  our  case,  we 
must  therein  eye  the  mighty  hand  of  God, 
as  that  which  placed  us  there,  and  is 
over  us  there,  to  hold  us  down  in  it;  and 
so,  with  an  awful  regard  thereto,  crouch 
down  under  it,  in  the  temper  and  dispo- 
sition of  our  spirits,  suiting  our  spirits  to 
our  lot,  and  careful  of  performing  the 
duty  of  our  low  sphere. 

3.  A  particular  spring  of  this  duty  ; 
therefore  we  must  consider,  that  those 


142  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

who  cannot  quietly  keep  the  place  as- 
signed them  of  God  in  their  afflictions  or 
relations,  but  still  press  upward  against 
the  mighty  hand  that  is  over  them,  that 
mighty  hand  resists  them,  throwing  them 
down,  and  often  farther  down  than  before; 
whereas  it  treats  them  with  grace  and 
favour  that  compose  themselves  under  it, 
to  a  quiet  discharge  of  their  duty  in  their 
situation  ;  so,  eyeing  this,  we  must  set 
ourselves  to  humble  ourselves. 

Idly,  The  infallible  issue  of  that  course ; 
that  he  may  exalt  you  in  due  time.  The 
particle  that,  is  not  always  to  be  under- 
stood finally,  as  denoting  the  end  or  de- 
sign the  agent  proposes  to  himself,  but 
sometimes  eventually  only,  as  denoting 
the  event  or  issue  of  the  action,  John 
ix.  2.,  1  John  ii.  19.  So  here,  the  meaning 
is  not,  Humble  yourselves,  on  design  he 
may  exalt  you  ;  but,  and  it  shall  issue  in 
his  exalting  you.  Compare  James  iv.  10. 

(1.)  Here  is  a  happy  event  of  humilia- 
tion of  spirit  secured,  and  that  is  exalta- 
tion or  lifting  up  on  high,  by  the  power  of 
God,  that  he  may  exalt  you.  Exalting  will 
as  surely  follow  on  humiliation  of  spirit, 
suitable  to  the  low  lot,  as  the  morning 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE  LOT.  143 

follows  the  night,  or  the  sun  riseth  after 
the  dawning.  And  these  words  are  fitted, 
to  obviate  the  objection  that  the  world, 
and  our  corrupt  hearts  are  apt  to  make 
against  bringing  down  the  spirit  to  the 
low  lot. 

Object.  1 .  If  we  let  our  spirit  fall,  we 
shall  lie  always  among  folk's  feet,  and  they 
will  trample  on  vs. 

Ans.  No  :  pride  of  spirit  unsubdued, 
will  bring  men  to  lie  among  the  feet  of 
others  for  ever,  Isa.  lxvi.  24.  But  hu- 
miliation of  spirit  will  bring  them  un- 
doubtedly out  from  among  their  feet, 
Mai.  iv.  2,  3.  They  that  humble  them- 
selves now  will  be  exalted  for  ever  ;  they 
will  be  brought  out  of  their  low  situation 
and  circumstances.  Cast  ye  yourselves 
even  down  with  your  low  lot,  and  assure 
yourselves  ye  shall  not  lie  there. 

Object.  2.  If  we  do  not  raise  ourselves, 
none  will  raise  us ;  and  therefore  we  must 
see  to  ourselves,  to  do  ourselves  right. 

A?is.  That  is  wrong.  Humble  ye  your- 
selves in  respect  of  your  spirits,  and  God 
will  raise  you  up  in  respect  of  your  lot,  or 
low  condition ;  and  they  that  have  God 
engaged  for  raising  them,  have  no  reason 


144  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

to  say  they  have  none  to  do  it  for  them. 
Bringing  down  of  the  spirit  is  our  duty, 
raising  us  up  is  God  s  work  ;  let  us  not 
forfeit  the  privilege  of  God's  raising  us  up, 
by  arrogating  that  work  to  ourselves, 
taking  it  out  of  his  hand. 

Object.  3.  But  sure  we  shall  never  rise 
high,  if  we  let  our  spirits  fall. 

Ans.  That  is  wrong  too :  God  will  not 
only  raise  humble  ones,  but  he  will  lift 
them  up  on  high  ;  for  so  the  word  signifies. 
They  shall  be  as  high  at  length  as  ever 
they  were  low,  were  they  ever  so  low ; 
nay,  the  exaltation  will  bear  proportion  to 
the  humiliation. 

(2.)  Here  is  the  date  of  that  happy 
event  when  it  will  fall  out.  In  due  time, 
or  in  the  season,  the  proper  season  for  it, 
Gal.  vi.  9.  '  In  due  season  we  shall  reap, 
if  we  faint  not.'  We  are  apt  to  weary  in 
humbling  trying  circumstances,  and  would 
always  be  on  the  advance,  John  vii.  6. 
But  Solomon  observes,  there  is  a  time  for 
every  thing  when  it  does  best,  and  the 
wise  shall  wait  it,  Eccl.  iii.  1—8.  There 
is  a  time  too  for  exalting  them  that  hum- 
ble themselves  ;  God  has  set  it,  and  it  is 
the  due  time  for  the  purpose,  the  time 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  145 

when  it  does  best,  even  as  sowing  in  the 
spring,  and  reaping  in  the  harvest.  When 
that  time  comes,  your  exalting  shall  no 
longer  be  put  off,  and  it  would  come  too 
soon  should  it  come,  before  that  time. 

Doct.  I.  The  bent  of  one's  heart  in  hum- 
bling  circumstances ,  should  lie  towards  a 
suitable  humbling  of  the  spirit,  as  under 
God's  mighty  hand  placing  us  in  them. 
We  have  here, 

I.  Some  things  supposed  in  this.  It 
supposeth  and  bears  in  it,  that, 

1.  God  brings  men  into  humbling  cir- 
cumstances, Ezek.  xvii.  24.  '  And  all 
the  trees  of  the  field  shall  know,  that 
I  the  Lord  have  brought  down  the  high 
tree/  There  is  a  root  of  pride  in  the 
hearts  of  all  men  on  earth,  that  must  be 
mortified  ere  they  can  be  meet  for  heaven: 
and  therefore  no  man  can  miss,  in  this 
time  of  trial,  some  things  that  will  give 
a  proof  whether  he  can  stoop  or  no.  And 
God  brings  them  into  humbling  circum- 
stances for  that  very  end,  Deut.  viii.  2„ 
'  The  Lord  thy  God  led  thee  these  forty 
years  in  the  wilderness,  to  humble  thee, 

L 


146  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

and  to  prove  thee,  and  to  know  what  was 
in  thine  heart/ 

2.  These  circumstances  prove  pressing 
as  a  weight  on  the  heart,  tending  to  bear 
it  down,  Psalm  cvii.  12.  '  Therefore  he 
brought  down  their  heart  with  labour/ 
They  strike  at  the  grain  of  the  heart,  and 
cross  the  natural  inclination  :  whence  a 
trial  naturally  ariseth,  whether,  when  God 
lays  on  his  mighty  hand,  the  man  can 
yield  under  it  or.  not;  and  consequently, 
whether  he  is  meet  for  heaven  or  not. 

3.  The  heart  is  naturally  apt  to  rise  up 
against  these  humbling  circumstances,  and 
consequently  against  the  mighty  hand  that 
brings  and  keeps  them  on.  The  man 
naturally  bends  his  force  to  get  off  the 
weight,  that  he  may  get  up  his  head, 
seeking  more  to  please  himself,  than  to 
please  his  God,  Job  xxxv.  9,  10.  *  They 
cry  out  by  reason  of  the  arm  of  the 
mighty :  But  none  saith,  Where  is  God 
my  Maker?  This  is  the  first  gate  the 
heart  runs  to  in  humbling  circumstances  ; 
and  in  this  way  the  unsubdued  spirit 
holds  on. 

4.  But  what  God  requires  is,  rather  to 
labour  to  bring  down  the  heart,  than  to 


THE   CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  147 

get  up  the  head,  James  iv.  10.  Here  lies 
the  proof  of  one's  meetness  for  heaven; 
and  then  is  one  in  the  way  heaven-ward, 
when  he  is  more  concerned  to  get  down 
his  heart  than  up  his  head,  to  go  calmly 
under  his  burden  than  to  get  it  off,  to 
crouch  under  the  mighty  hand,  than  to 
put  it  off  him. 

5.  There  must  be  a  noticing  of  God  as 
our  party,  in  humbling  circumstances; 
*  Hear  ye  the  rod,  and  him  who  hath  ap- 
pointed it,'  Mic.  vi.  9.  There  is  an  ab- 
jectness  of  spirit,  whereby  some  give  up 
themselves  to  the  will  of  others,  in  the 
harshest  treatment,  merely  to  please  them, 
without  regard  to  the  authority  and  com- 
mand of  God.  This  is  real  meanness  of 
spirit,  whereby  one  lies  quietly  to  be 
trampled  on  by  a  fellow-worm,  from  its 
imaginary  weight;  and  none  so  readily 
fall  into  it  as  the  proud,  at  some  times,  to 
serve  their  own  turn,  Acts  xii.  22.  These 
are  men-pleasers,  Eph.  vi.  6,  with  Gal.  i. 
10. 

II.  What  are  these  humbling  circum- 
stances the  mighty  hand  of  God  brings 
them  into.  Supposing  here  what  was  be- 
fore taught  concerning  the  crook  in  the 
i  2 


148  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

lot's  being  of  God's   making,  these  are 
circumstances, 

1.  Of  imperfection.  God  has  placed 
all  men  in  such  circumstances  under  a 
variety  of  wants  and  imperfections,  Phil, 
iii.  12.  We  can  look  no  where,  where 
we  are  not  beset  with  them.  There  is  a 
heap  of  natural  and  moral  imperfections 
about  us  :  our  bodies  and  our  souls,  in 
all  their  faculties,  are  in  a  state  of  imper- 
fection. The  pride  of  all  glory  is  stained ; 
and  it  is  a  shame  for  us  not  to  be  humbled 
under  such  wants  as  attend  us;  it  is  like 
a  beggar  strutting  in  his  rags. 

2.  Of  inferiority  in  relations,  whereby 
men  are  set  in  the  lower  place  in  relations 
and  society,  and  made  to  depend  on 
others,  2  Cor.  vii.  24.  God  has,  for  a 
trial  of  men's  submission  to  himself,  sub- 
jected them  to  others  whom  he  has  set 
over  them,  to  discover  what  regard  they 
will  pay  to  his  authority  and  commands  at 
second  hand.  Dominion  or  superiority  is 
a  part  of  the  divine  image  shining  in  them, 
1  Cor.  xi.  7.  And  therefore  reverence 
of  them,  consisting  of  an  awful  regard  to 
that  ray  of  the  divine  image  shining  in 
them  is  necessarily  required,  Eph.  v.  33., 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  149 

Heb.  xii.  9.  compare  Psalm  cxi.  9.  The 
same  holds  in  all  other  relations  and  su- 
periorities, viz.  they  that  are  so  far  in  the 
place  of  God  to  their  relatives,  Psalm 
lxxxii.  6.  And  though  the  parties  be 
worthless  in  themselves,  that  he  looseth 
not  one  from  the  debt  to  them,  Acts  xxiii. 
4,  5.,  Rom.  xiii.  7-  the  reason  is,  because 
it  is  not  their  qualities,  but  their  cha- 
racter, which  is  the  ground  of  that  debt  of 
reverence  and  subjection ;  and  the  trial 
God  takes  of  us  in  that  matter  turns 
not  on  the  point  of  the  former,  but  of  the 
latter. 

Now,  God  having  placed  us  in  these 
circumstances  of  inferiority,  all  refractori- 
ness in  all  things,  not  contrary  to  the  com- 
mand of  God,  is  a  rising  up  against  his 
mighty  hand,  Rom.  xiii.  2.  because  it  is 
immediately  upon  us  for  that  effect,  though 
it  is  a  man's  hand  that  is  immediately  on 
us. 

3.  Of  contradiction,  tending  directly  to 
baulk  us  of  our  will.  This  was  a  part  of 
our  Lord's  state  of  humiliation,  and  the 
apostle  supposes  it  will  be  a  part  of  ours 
too,  Heb.  xii.  3.    There  is  a  perfect  har- 


150  THE    CROOK    IN  THE    LOT. 

mony  in  heaven,  no  one  to  contradict 
another  there:  for  they  are  in  their  state 
of  retribution  and  exaltation  :  but  we  are 
here  in  our  state  of  trial  and  humiliation, 
and  therefore  cannot  miss  contradiction, 
be  we  placed  ever  so  high. 

Whether  these  contradictions  be  just  or 
unjust,  God  trusts  men  with  them  to  hum- 
ble them,  break  them  off  from  addicted- 
ness  to  their  own  will,  and  to  teach  them 
resignation  and  self-denial.  They  are  in 
their  own  nature  humbling,  and  much 
the  same  to  us,  as  the  breaking  of  a  horse 
or  a  bullock  is  to  them.  And  I  believe 
there  are  many  cases  in  which  there  can 
be  no  accounting  for  them,  but  by  recur- 
ring to  this  use  God  has  for  them. 

4.  Of  affliction,  Prov.  xvi.  19.  Pros- 
perity puffs  up  sinners  with  pride  ;  and  O  ! 
but  it  is  hard  to  keep  a  low  spirit  with 
a  high  and  prosperous  lot.  But  God, 
by  affliction,  calls  men  down  from  their 
heights  to  sit  in  the  dust,  plucks  away 
their  gay  feathers  wherein  they  prided 
themselves,  rubs  the  paint  and  varnish 
from  off  the  creature,  whereby  it  appears 
more  in  its  native  deformity.     There  are 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  151 

various  kinds  of  affliction,  some  more, 
some  less  humbling,  but  all  of  them  are 
humbling. 

Wherefore,  not  to  lower  tbe  spirit  under 
the  affliction,  is  to  pretend  to  rise  up 
when  God  is  casting  and  holding  down 
with  a  witness;  and  cannot  miss,  if  con- 
tinued in,  to  provoke  the  Lord  to  break 
us  in  pieces,  Ezek.  xxiv.  13.  For  the 
afflicting  hand  is  mighty. 

5.  Of  sin,  as  the  punishment  of  sin. 
We  may  allude  to  that,  Job  xxx.  19.  All 
the  sin  in  the  world  is  a  punishment  of 
Adam's  first  sin.  Man  threw  himself 
into  the  mire  at  first,  and  now  he  is  justly 
left  weltering  in  it.  Men  wilfully  make 
one  false  step,  and  for  that  cause  they  are 
justly  left  to  make  another  worse;  and 
sin  hangs  about  all,  even  the  best.  And 
this  is  over-ruled  of  God  for  our  humilia- 
tion, that  we  may  be  ashamed,  and  never 
open  our  mouth  any  more.  Wherefore, 
not  to  be  humbled  under  our  sinfulness,  is 
to  rise  up  against  the  mighty  hand  of 
God,  and  to  justify  all  our  sinful  depart- 
ings  from  him,  as  lost  to  all  sense  of  duty, 
and  void  of  shame. 

III.  What  it  is  in  humbling  circum- 


152  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

stances,  to  humble  ourselves  under  the 
mighty  hand  of  God.  This  is  the  great 
thing  to  be  aimed  at  in  our  humbling  cir- 
cumstances. And  we  may  take  it  up  in 
these  eight  things. 

1.  Noticing  the  mighty  hand,  as  em- 
ployed in  bringing  about  every  thing  that 
concerns  us,  either  in  the  way  of  efficacy 
or  permission,  1  Sam.  iii.  18.  '  And  he 
said,  It  is  the  Loid;  let  him  do  what 
seemeth  him  good.'  2  Sam.  xvi.  10. 
'  And  the  king  said,  The  Lord  hath  said 
unto  him,  Curse  David  :  Who  shall  then 
say,  Wherefore  hast  thou  done  so?'  He 
is  the  fountain  of  all  perfection,  but  we 
must  trace  our  imperfections  to  his  sove- 
reign will.  It  is  he  that  has  posted  every 
one  in  their  relations  by  his  providence; 
without  him  we  could  not  meet  with  such 
contradictions;  for,  'the  king's  heart  is 
in  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  as  the  rivers  of 
water :  he  turneth  it  whithersoever  he 
pleaselh.'  Prov.  xxi.  1.  He  sends  on 
afflictions,  and  he  justly  punishes  one 
sin  with  another,  Isa.  vi.  10. 

2.  A  sense  of  our  own  worthlessness 
and  nothingness  before  him,  Psal.cxliv.  3. 
Looking  to   the  infinite   Majesty  of  the 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  153 

mighty  band  dealing  with  us,  we  should 
say,  with  Abraham,  Gen.  xviii.  27.  '  Be- 
hold, I  am  but  dust  and  ashes;'  and  say 
Amen  to  the  cry,  Isa.  xl.  6.  All  flesh  is 
grass,  &c.  The  keeping  up  of  thoughts  of 
our  own  excellency,  under  the  pressures 
of  the  mighty  hand,  is  the  very  thing  that 
swells  the  heart  in  pride,  causing  it  to  rise 
up  against  it.  And  it  is  the  letting  of  all 
such  thoughts  of  ourselves  fall  before  the 
eyes  of  his  glory,  that  is  the  humbling  re- 
quired. 

3.  A  sense  of  our  guilt  and  Jilthiness, 
Rom.  iii.  10.,  Isa.  xliv.  6.  The  mighty 
hand  doth  not  press  us  down,  but  as  sin- 
ners ;  it  is  meet  then  that  under  it  we  see 
our  sinfulness  ;  our  guilt,  whereby  we  will 
appear  criminals  justly  caused  to  suffer; 
our  filthiness,  whereupon  we  may  be 
brought  to  loathe  ourselves :  and  then 
we  shall  think  nothing  lays  us  lower  than 
we  well  deserve.  It  is  the  overlooking 
our  sinfulness  that  suffers  the  proud  heart 
to  swell. 

4.  A  silent  submission  under  the  hand 
of  God.  His  sovereignty  challengeth  this 
of  us,  Rom.  ix.  20.  '  Nay  but,  O  man, 
who  art  thou  that  repliest  against  God  ? 


154  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

And  nothing  but  unsubdued  height  and 
pride  of  spirit  can  allow  us  to  answer 
again  under  the  sovereign  hand.  A  view 
of  the  sovereign  hand  humbled  and  awed 
the  Psalmist  into  a  submission,  with  a  pro- 
found silence,  Psalm  xxxix.  9.  ( I  was 
dumb,  I  opened  not  my  mouth,  because 
thou  didst  it.'— Job  i.  21.  <  The  Lord 
gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away  ; 
blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord.' — And 
xl.  4,  5.  '  What  shall  I  answer  thee?  I 
will  lay  mine  hand  upon  my  mouth. 
Once  have  I  spoken,  but  I  will  not  an- 
swer ;  yea,  twice,  but  I  will  proceed 
no  farther.'  And  Eli,  1  Sam.  iii.  18. 
'  It  is  the  Lord  ;  let  him  do  what  seemeth 
him  good.' 

5.  A  magnifying  of  his  mercies  towards 
us  in  the  midst  of  all  his  proceedings 
against  us,  Psal.  cxliv.  3.  Has  he  laid  us 
low  ?  If  we  be  duly  humbled,  we  shall 
wonder  he  has  laid  us  no  lower,  Ezra, 
ix.  13.  For  however  low  the  humble  are 
laid,  they  will  see  they  are  not  yet  so  low 
as  their  sins  deserve,  Lam.  iii.  22. 

6.  A  holy  and  silent  admiration  of  the 
ways  and  counsels  of  God,  as  to  us  un- 
searchable, Rom.  xi.  33.    Pride  of  heart 


TH£    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  155 

thinks  nothing  too  high  for  the  man,  and 
so  arraigns  before  its  tribunal  the  divine 
proceedings,  pretends  to  see  through  them, 
censures  freely  and  condemns ;  but  hu- 
miliation of  spirit  disposes  a  man  to  think 
awfully  and  honourably  of  the  mysteries 
of  Providence  he  is  not  able  to  see 
through. 

7.  A  forgetting  and  laying  aside  before 
the  Lord  all  our  dignity,  whereby  we 
excel  others,  Rev.  iv.  10.  Pride  feeds 
itself  on  the  man's  real  or  imaginary  per- 
sonal excellency  and  dignity,  and  being 
so  inured  to  it  before  others,  cannot  forget 
itbefore  God.  Luke  xviii.  11.  '  God, 
I  thank  thee  I  am  not  as  other  men.'  But 
humiliation  of  spirit  makes  it  all  to  vanish 
before  him  as  doth  the  shadow  before  the 
shining  sun,  and  it  lays  the  man,  in  his 
own  eyes,  lower  than  any.  '  Surely  I  am 
more  brutish  than  any  man,  and  have 
not  the  understanding  of  a  man/  Prov. 
xxx.  2. 

8.  A  submitting  readily  to  the  meanest 
offices  requisite  in,  or  agreeable  to  our 
circumstances.  Pride  at  every  turn  finds 
something  that  is  below  the  man  to  con- 
descend or  stoop  to,  measuring  by  his 


156  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

own  mind  and  will,  not  by  the  circum- 
stances God  has  placed  him  in.  But 
humility  measures  by  the  circumstances 
one  is 'placed  in,  and  readily  falls  in  with 
what  they  require.  Hereof  our  Saviour 
gave  us  an  example  to  be  imitated,  John 
xiii.  14.  *  If  I  then,  your  Lord  and  Mas- 
ter, have  washed  your  feet,  ye  ought  also 
to  wash  one  another's  feet.'  Yea  more, 
Phil.  ii.  8,  '  He  humbled  himself,  and 
became  obedient  unto  death.' 

Use.  Of  exhortation.  Let  the  bent  of 
your  heart  then,  in  all  your  humbling  cir- 
cumstances, be  towards  the  humbling  of 
your  spirit,  as  under  the  mighty  hand  of 
God.     This  lies  in  two  things. 

1.  Carefully  notice  all  your  humbling 
circumstances,  and  overlook  none  of  them. 
Observe  your  imperfections;  inferiority 
in  relations;  contradictions  you  meet 
with;  your  afflictions;  uncertainty  of  all 
things  about  you  ;  and  your  sinfulness. 
— Look  through  them  designedly,  and 
consider  the  steps  of  the  conduct  of  Pro- 
vidence towards  you  in  these,  that  ye 
may  know  yourselves,  and  may  not  be 
strangers  at  home,  blind  to  your  own  real 
state  and  case. 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  157 

2.  Observing  what  these  circumstances 
do  require  of  you,  as  suitable  to  them ; 
bend  your  endeavours  towards  it,  to 
bring  your  spirits  into  the  temper  of 
humiliation,  that,  as  your  lot  is  really 
low  in  all  these  respects,  so  your  spirits 
may  be  low  too,  as  under  the  mighty 
hand  of  God.  Let  this  be  your  great 
aim  through  your  whole  life,  and  your 
exercise  every  day. 

Motive  1.  God  is  certainly  at  work  to 
humble  one  and  all  of  us.  However  high 
any  are  lifted  up  in  this  world,  Providence 
has  hung  certain  badges  for  humiliation 
on  them,  whether  they  will  notice  them 
or  not,  Isa.  xl.  6.  Now  it  is  our  duty 
to  fall  in  with  the  design  of  Providence, 
that  while  God  is  humbling  us,  we  may 
be  humbling  ourselves,  and  that  we  may 
not  receive  humbling  dispensations  in 
vain. 

2.  The  humiliation  of  our  spirit  will 
not  take  effect  without  our  own  agency 
therein ;  while  God  is  working  on  us 
that  way,  we  must  work  together  with 
him,  for  he  works  on  us  as  rational 
agents,  who  being  moved,  move  them- 
selves,  Phil.   ii.   12,  13.      God  by  his 


158  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

providence  may  force  down  our  lot  and 
condition  without  us,  but  the  spirit  must 
come  down  voluntarily  and  of  choice,  or 
not  at  all;  therefore  strike  in  with  hum- 
bling providences  in  humbling  your- 
selves, as  mariners  spread  out  the  sails 
when  the  wind  begins  to  blow,  that  they 
may  go  away  before  it. 

3.  If  ye  do  not,  ye  resist  the  mighty 
hand  of  God,  Acts  vii.  51.  Ye  resist  in 
so  far  as  ye  do  not  yield,  but  stand 
as  a  rock  keeping  your  ground  against 
your  Maker  in  humbling  providences, 
Jer.  v.  3.  '  Thou  hast  stricken  them, 
but  they  have  not  grieved;  thou  hast 
consumed  them,  but  they  have  refused 
to  receive  correction.  They  have  made 
their  faces  harder  than  a  rock ;  they  have 
refused  to  return.'  Much  more  when  ye 
work  against  him  to  force  up  your  con- 
dition, which  we  may  see  God  means 
to  hold  down.  And  of  this  resistance 
consider, 

(1.)  The  sinfulness ;  what  an  evil  thing 
it  is.  It  is  a  direct  fighting  against  God,  a 
shaking  off  of  subjection  to  our  sovereign 
Lord,  and  a  rising  in  rebellion  against 
him,  Isaiah  xlv.  9. 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  159 

(2 .)  The  folly  of  it.  How  unequal  is 
the  match !  How  can  the  struggle  end 
well/  Job  ix.  4.  What  else  can  pos- 
sibly be  the  issue  of  the  potsherds  of  the 
earth  dashing  against  the  Rock  of  ages, 
but  that  they  be  broken  to  pieces?  We 
may  say  as  Job  xli.  8.  All  men  must 
certainly  bow  or  break  under  the  mighty 
hand. 

4.  This  is  the  time  of  humiliation,  even 
the  time  of  this  life.  Every  thing  is  beau- 
tiful in  its  season;  and  the  bringing  down 
of  the  spirit  now  as  beautiful,  as  in  the 
time  thereof,  even  as  the  plowing  and 
sowing  of  the  ground  is  in  the  spring. 
Consider, 

(1.)  Humiliation  of  spirit  is  in  the  sight 
of  God  of  great  price,  1  Pet.  iii.  4.  As 
he  has  a  special  aversion  to  pride  of 
heart,  he  has  a  special  liking  of  humi- 
lity, chap.  v.  5.  The  humbling  of  sin* 
ners  and  bringing  them  down  from  their 
heights,  wherein  the  corruption  of  their 
nature  has  set  them,  is  the  great  end  of 
his  word,  and  of  his  providences. 

(2.)  It  is  no  easy  thing  to  humble 
men's  spirits  ;  it  is  not  little  that  will  do  it; 
it  is  a  work  that  is  not  soon  done.    There 


160  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

is  need  of  a  digging  deep  for  a  thorough 
humiliation  in  the  work  of  conversion, 
Luke  vi.  48.  Many  a  stroke  must  be 
given  at  the  root  of  the  tree  of  the  na- 
tural pride  of  the  heart  ere  it  fall ;  oft- 
times  it  seems  to  be  fallen,  and  yet,  it 
arises  again.  And,  even  when  the  root 
stroke  is  given  in  believers,  the  rod  of 
pride  buds  again,  so  that  there  is  still 
occasion  for  new  humbling  work. 

(3.)  The  whole  time  of  this  life  is  ap- 
pointed for  humiliation.  This  was  sig- 
nified by  the  forty  years  the  Israelites  had 
in  the  wilderness,  Deut.  viii.  2.  It  was 
so  to  Christ,  and  therefore  it  must  be  so 
to  men,  Heb.  xii.  2.  And  in  that  time 
they  must  either  be  formed  according  to 
his  image,  or  else  appear  as  reprobate  sil- 
ver that  will  not  take  it  on  by  any  means, 
Rom.  viii,  29.  So  that  whatever  lifting 
up  men  may  now  and  then  get  in  this 
life,  the  habitual  course  of  it  will  still  be 
humbling. 

(4.)  There  is  no  humbling  after  this, 
Rev.  xxii.  11.  If  the  pride  of  the  heart 
be  not  brought  down  in  this  life,  it  will 
never  be  ;  no  kindly  humiliation  is  to  be 
expected  in  the  other  life.     There  the 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  161 

proud  will  be  broken  in  pieces,  but  not 
softened  ;  their  lot  and  condition  will  be 
brought  to  the  lowest  pass,  but  the  lofti- 
ness of  their  spirits  will  still  remain, 
whence  they  will  be  in  eternal  agonies 
through  the  opposition  betwixt  their 
spirits  and  lot,  Rev.  xvi.  21. 

Wherefore,  beware  lest  ye  neglect  your 
time  of  humiliation  :  humbled  we  must  be, 
or  we  are  gone  for  ever;  and  this  is  the 
time,  the  only  time  of  it;  therefore,  make 
your  hay  while  the  sun  shines ;  strike  in 
with  humbling  providences,  and  fight  not 
against  them  while  ye  have  them,  Acts 
xiii.  41.  The  season  of  grace  will  not 
last;  if  ye  sleep  in  seed-time,  ye  will 
beg  in  harvest. 

5.  This  is  the  way  to  turn  humbling 
circumstances  to  a  good  account ;  so  that 
instead  of  being  losers  ye  may  be  gainers 
by  them,  Psalm  cxix.  71.  *  It  is  good  for 
me  that  I  have  been  afflicted.7  Would 
ye  gather  grapes  of  these  thorns  and 
thistles,  set  yourselves  to  get  your  spirits 
humbled  by  them. 

(1.)  Humiliation  of  spirit  is  a  most  va- 
luable thing  in  itself,  Prov.  xvi.  32.  It 
cannot  be   bought  too  dear.     Whatever 

M 


162  THE    CHOOK    V&    THE    LOT. 

one  is  made  to  suffer,  if  his  spirit  is 
thereby  duly  brought  down,  he  has  what 
is  well  worth  bearing  all  the  hardship  for, 
1  Pet.  iii  4 

(2.)  Humility  of  spirit  brings  many 
advantages  along  with  it.  It  is  a  fruitful 
bough,  well  loaden,  wherever  it  is.  It 
contributes  to  one's  ease  under  the  cross, 
Matt.  xi.  30.,  Lam.  iii.  27,  28,  29.  It  is 
a  sacrifice  particularly  acceptable  to  God, 
Psalm  li.  17.  The  eye  of  God  is  particu- 
larly on  such  for  good,  Isa.  lxvi.  2.  *  To 
this  man  will  I  look,  even  to  him  that  is 
poor,  and  of  a  contrite  spirit,  and  trem- 
bleth  at  my  word.'  Yea,  he  dwells  with 
them,  Isa.  lvii.  15.  And  it  carries  a  line 
of  wisdom  through  one's  whole  conduct, 
Prov.  xi.  2.  '  With  the  lowly  is  wisdom.' 

Lastly,  Consider  it  is  a  mighty  hand 
that  is  at  work  with  us;  the  hand  of  the 
mighty  God  ;  let  us  then  bend  our  spirits 
towards  a  compliance  with  it,  and  not 
wrestle  against  it.     Consider, 

(1.)  We  must  fall  under  it.  Since  the 
design  of  it  is  to  bring  us  down,  we  can- 
not stand  before  it;  for  it  cannot  mis- 
carry in  its  designs,  Isa.  xlvi.  10.  '  My 
counsel  shall  stand.'    So  fall  before  it  we 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  163 

must,  either  in  the  way  of  duty  or  judg- 
ment, Psalm  xlv.  5.  *  Thine  arrows  are 
sharp  in  the  heart  of  the  king's  enemies, 
whereby  the  people  fall  under  thee.' 

(2.)  They  that  are  so  wise  as  to  fall  in 
humiliation  under  the  mighty  hand,  be 
they  ever  so  low,  the  same  hand  will  raise 
them  up  again,  Jam.  iv.  10.  In  a  word, 
be  the  proud  ever  so  high,  God  will  bring 
them  down :  be  the  humble  ever  so  low, 
God  will  raise  them  up. 

Directions  for  reaching  this  humiliation. 

I.  General  Directions. 

Direct.  1.  Fix  it  in  your  heart  to  seek 
some  spiritual  improvement  of  the  con- 
duct of  Providence  towards  you,  Micah 
vi.  9.  Till  once  your  heart  is  bent  that 
way,  your  humiliation  is  not  to  be  ex- 
pected, Hosea  xiv.  9.  But  nothing  is 
more  reasonable,  if  we  would  act  either 
like  men  or  Christians,  than  to  aim  at 
turning  what  is  so  grievous  to  the  flesh 
unto  the  profit  of  the  spirit ;  that,  if  we  are 
losers  on  one  hand,  we  may  be  gainers 
on  the  other. 

m  2 


164  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

2.  Settle  the  matter  of  your  eternal 
salvation,  in  the  first  place,  by  betaking 
yourself  to  Christ,  and  taking  God  for 
your  God  in  him,  according  to  the  gospel- 
offer,  Hos.  ii.  19.  Heb.  viii.  10.  Let  your 
humbling  circumstances  move  you  to  this, 
that  while  the  creature  dries  up,  you  may 
go  to  the  Fountain  :  for  it  is  impossible 
to  reach  due  humiliation  under  the  mighty 
hand,  without  faith  in  him  as  your  God 
and  friend,  Heb,  xi.  6.  1  John  iv.  19. 

3.  Use  the  means  of  soul-humbling  in 
the  faith  of  the  promise,  Psalm  xxviii.  7. 
Moses  smiting  the  rock  in  faith  of  the 
promise,  made  water  gush  out,  which 
otherwise  would  not  at  all  have  appeared. 
Let  us  do  likewise  in  dealing  with  our 
rocky  hearts.  They  must  be  laid  on  the 
soft  bed  of  the  gospel,  and  struck  there, 
as  Joel  ii.  13.  '  Turn  to  the  Lord  your 
God,'  for  'he  is  gracious  and  merciful:' 
or  they  will  never  kindly  break  or  fall  in 
humiliation. 

II.  Particular  Directions. 

1.  Assure  yourselves  that  there  are  no 
circumstances  so  humbling  that  you  are 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  16*5 

in,  but  you  may  get  your  heart  acceptably 
brought  down  to  them,  1  Cor.  x.  13.  But 
God  is  faithful  who  will  not  suffer  you  to 
be  tempted  above  that  ye  are  able,  but  will 
with  the  temptation  also  make  a  way  to 
escape,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it.  This 
is  truth,  2  Cor.  xii.  9.  i  My  grace  is 
sufficient  for  thee;  for  my  strength  is 
made  perfect  in  weakness/  And  you 
would  be  persuaded  of  it,  with  applica- 
tion to  yourselves,  if  ever  you  would  reach 
the  end.  Phil.  iv.  13.  'I  can  do  all 
things  through  Christ  which  strengthened 
me.'  God  allows  you  to  be  persuaded  of 
it,  whatever  is  your  weakness  and  the 
difficulty  of  the  task.  '  For  your  sakes 
this  is  written,  That  he  that  ploweth 
slould  plow  in  hope ;  and  that  he  that 
thresheth  in  hope,  should  be  partaker  of 
his  hope,'  1  Cor.  ix.  10.  And  the  belief 
thereof  is  a  piece  of  the  life  of  faith,  2  Tim. 
ii.  1.  If  you  have  no  hope  of  success, 
your  endeavours,  as  they  will  be  heart- 
less, so  they  will  be  vain.  '  Wherefore 
lift  up  the  hands  that  hang  down,  and  the 
feeble  knees,'  Heb.  xii.  12. 

2.  Whatever  hand  is,  or  is  not,  in  your 


166  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

humbling  circumstances,  do  you  take 
God  for  your  party,  and  consider  your- 
selves therein  as  under  his  mighty  hand, 
Micah  vi.  9.  Men  in  their  humbling  cir- 
cumstances overlook  God ;  so  they  find 
not  themselves  called  to  humility  under 
them  ;  they  fix  their  eyes  on  the  creature 
instrument,  and  instead  of  humility  their 
hearts  rise.  But  take  him  for  your  party, 
that  ye  may  remember  the  battle,  and  do 
no  more,  Job  xli.  8. 

3.  Be  much  in  the  thoughts  of  God's 
infinite  greatness;  consider  his  holiness 
and  majesty,  fit  to  awe  you  into  deepest 
humiliation,  Isaiah  vi.  3,  4,  5.  Job  met 
with  many  humbling  providences  in  his 
case,  but  he  was  never  sufficiently  hum- 
bled under  them,  till  the  Lord  made  a 
new  discovery  of  himself  unto  him,  in  his 
infinite  majesty  and  greatness.  He  kept 
his  ground  against  his  friends,  and  stood 
to  his  points,  till  the  Lord  took  that  me- 
thod with  him.  It  was  begun  with  thun- 
der, Job  xxxvii.  J,  2.  Then  followed 
God's  voice  out  of  the  whirlwind,  chap, 
xxxviii.  1.  whereon  Job  is  brought  down, 
chap.  xl.  4,  5.     It  is  renewed  till  he  is 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  167 

farther  humbled,  chap.  xlii.  5,6.  '  Where- 
fore I  abhor  myself,  and  repent  in  dust 
and  ashes.' 

4.  Inure  yourselves  silently  to  admit 
mysteries  in  the  conduct  of  Providence 
towards  you,  which  you  are  not  able  to 
comprehend,  but  will  adore,  Rom.  xi.  33. 
'  O  the  depth  of  the  riches,  both  of  the 
wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God  !  how  un- 
searchable are  his  judgments,  and  his 
ways  past  finding  out !'  That  was  the  first 
word  God  said  to  Job,  xxxviii.  2.  *  Who 
is  this  that  darker.eth  counsel  by  words 
without  knowledge?'  It  took  him  by  the 
heart,  stuck  with  him,  and  he  comes  over 
it  again,  chap.  xlii.  3.  as  that  which  par- 
ticularly brought  him  to  his  knees,  to  the 
dust.  Even  in  those  steps  of  Providence, 
which  we  seem  to  see  far  into,  we  may 
well  allow  there  are  some  mysteries  be- 
yond what  we  see.  And  in  those  which 
are  perplexing  and  puzzling,  sovereignty 
should  silence  us ;  his  infinite  wisdom 
should  satisfy,  though  we  cannot  see. 

5.  Be  much  in  the  thoughts  of  your 
own  sinfulness,  Job  xl.  4.  '  Behold  I 
am  vile,  what  shall  I  answer  thee?  J  will 
lay  mine  hand  upon  my  mouth.'     It  is 


168  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

overlooking  of  that  which  gives  us  so 
much  ado  with  humbling  circumstances. 
While  the  eyes  are  held  that  they  cannot 
see  sin,  the  heart  riseth  against  them ; 
hut  when  they  are  opened,  it  falls. 
Wherefore,  whenever  God  is  dealing  with 
you  in  humbling  dispensations,  turn  your 
eyes,  upon  that  occasion,  on  the  sinfulness 
of  your  nature,  heart,  and  life,  and  that 
will  help  forward  your  humiliation. 

6.  Settle  it  in  your  heart,  that  there  is 
need  of  all  the  humbling  circumstances 
you  are  put  in.  This  is  truth,  1  Pet.  i.  6. 
'  Though  now  for  a  season  (if  need  be) 
ye  are  in  heaviness  from  manifold  tempta- 
tions.' God  brings  no  needless  trials  upon 
us,  afflicts  none  but  as  their  need  requires, 
Lam.  iii.  33.  '  For  he  doth  not  afflict 
willingly,  nor  grieve  the  children  of  men.' 
That  is  an  observable  difference  betwixt 
our  earthly  and  our  heavenly  Father's 
correction,  Heb.  xii.  10.  'They,  after 
their  own  pleasure;  but  he  for  our  pro- 
fit, that  we  might  be  partakers  of  his  ho- 
liness.' Look  to  the  temper  of  your  own 
hearts  and  nature,  how  apt  to  be  lift  up, 
forget  God,  carried  away  with  the  vanities 
of  the  world  ;   what  foolishness  is  bound 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  169 

up  in  your  heart.  Thus  you  will  see  the 
need  of  humbling  circumstances  for  bal- 
last, and  of  the  rod  for  the  fool's  back;  and 
if  at  any  time  you  cannot  see  that  need, 
believe  it  on  the  ground  of  God's  infinite 
wisdom,  that  does  nothing  in  vain. 

7.  Believe  a  kind  design  of  Providence 
in  them  towards  you.  God  calls  us  to 
this,  as  the  key  that  opens  the  heart 
under  them,  Rev.  iii.  19.  Satan  suggests 
suspicions  to  the  contrary,  as  the  bar 
which  may  hold  it  shut,  2  Kings  vi.  33. 
1  This  evil  is  of  the  Lord,  what  should  I 
wait  for  the  Lord  any  longer?'  As  long 
as  the  suspicions  of  an  ill  design  in  them 
against  us  reigns,  the  creature  will,  like 
the  worm  at  the  man's  feet,  put  itself  in 
the  best  posture  of  defence  it  can,  and 
harden  itself  in  sorrow  :  but  the  faith  of  a 
kind  design  will  cause  it  to  open  out  it- 
self in  humility  before  him. 

Case. '  O  !  if  I  knew  there  were  a  kind 
design  in  it,  I  would  willingly  bear  it,  al- 
though there  were  more  of  it;  but  I  fear 
a  ruining  design  of  Providence  against 
me  therein.' 

Ans.  Now,  what  word  of  God,  or  dis- 
covery from  heaven,  have  you  to  ground 


170  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

these  fears  upon  ?  None  at  all,  1  Cor.  x. 
13.  What  think  you  the  design  towards 
you  in  the  gospel  is  ?  Can  you  believe  no 
kind  design  towards  you  in  all  the  words 
of  grace  there  heaped  up  neither?  What 
is  that,  I  pray,  but  black  unbelief,  flying 
in  the  face  of  the  truth  of  God,  and  making 
him  a  liar,  Isa.  lv.  1.,  1  John  v.  10,  11. 
The  gospel  is  a  breathing  of  love  and 
good-will  to  the  world  of  mankind,  even 
to  sinners  of  every  description,  Titus  ii. 
11,  iii.  4.,  1  John  iv.  14.,  John  iii.  17. 
But  you  believe  it  not,  in  that  case,  more 
than  devils  believe  it.  But  if  you  believe 
a  kind  design  there,  you  must  believe  it 
in  your  humbling  circumstances  too;  for 
the  design  of  Providence  cannot  be  con- 
trary to  the  design  of  the  gospel ;  but 
contrarywise  the  one  is  to  help  forward 
the  other. 

8.  Think  with  yourselves,  that  this  life 
is  the  time  of  trial  for  heaven,  James  i.  12. 
Blessed  is  the  man  that  endure th  tempta- 
tion ;  for  when  he  is  tried,  he  shall  receive 
the  crown  of  life,  which  the  Lord  hath  pro- 
mised to  them  that  love  him.  And  there- 
fore there  should  be  a  welcoming  of  hum- 
bling circumstances  in  that  view,  ver.  2. 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE   LOT.  171 

*  Count  all  joy  when  you  fall  into  divers 
temptations.'  If  there  is  an  honourable 
office,  or  beneficial  employment  to  be 
bestowed,  men  strive  to  be  taken  on  trial 
for  it,  in  hope  they  may  be  thereupon 
legally  admitted  to  it.  Now  God  takes 
trial  of  men  for  heaven  by  humbling  cir- 
cumstances, as  the  whole  Bible  teacheth  ; 
and  shall  men  be  so  very  loth  to  stoop  to 
them?  I  would  ask, 

(l.)Is  it  nothing  to  you  to  stand  a 
candidate  for  glory,  to  be  put  on  trials  for 
heaven  ?  Is  there  not  an  honour  in  it,  an 
honour  which  all  the  saints  have  had  ? 
James  v.  11.  '  Behold  we  count  them 
happy  that  endure.'  And  a  fair  pros- 
pect in  it,  2  Cor.  iv.  17.  '  For  our  light 
affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment, 
worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and 
eternal  weight  of  glory.'  Do  but  put 
the  case,  should  God  overlook  you 
as  one  whom  it  is  needless  ever  to  try 
on  that  head  ;  should  he  order  your  por- 
tion in  this  life  with  full  ease,  as  one  that 
is  to  get  no  more  of  him;  what  would 
that  be  ? 

(2.)  What  a  vast  disproportion  is  there 
between  your  trials  and  the  glory  !    Your 


172  THE    CKOOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

most  humbling  circumstances,  how  light 
are  they  in  comparison  of  the  weight  of 
it !  The  longest  continued  of  them  are 
but  for  a  moment,  compared  with  the  eter- 
nal weight.  Alas  !  there  is  much  unbelief 
at  the  root  of  all  our  uneasiness  under  our 
humbling  circumstances.  Had  we  a  clearer 
view  of  the  other  world,  we  should  not 
make  so  much  of  either  the  smiles  or 
frowns  of  this. 

(3.)  What  think  you  of  coming  foul  of 
the  trial  of  your  humbling  circumstances? 
Jer.  vi.  29,  30.  The  lead  is  consumed  of 
the  fire  ;  the  founder  melteth  in  vain  ;  for 
the  wicked  are  not  plucked  away.  Repro- 
bate silver  shall  men  call  them,  because  the 
Lord  hath  rejected  them.  That  the  issue 
of  it  be  only,  that  your  heart-appear  of 
such  a  temper  as  by  no  means  to  be 
humbled;  and  that  therefore  you  must 
and  shall  be  taken  off  them,  while  yet  no 
humbling  appears.  I  think  the  awfulness 
of  the  dispensation  is  such,  as  might  set 
us  to  our  knees  to  deprecate  the  lifting  us 
up  from  our  humbling  circumstances,  ere 
our  hearts  are  humbled,  Isa.  i.  5.,  Ezek. 
xxiv.  13. 

9.  Think  with  yourselves,  how  it  is  by 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  173 

humbling  circumstances  the  Lord  prepares 
us  for  heaven,  Col.  i.  12.  Giving  thanks 
unto  the  Father,  who  hath  made  us  meet  to 
be  made  partakers  of  the  inheritance  of  the 
saints  in  light,  2  Cor.  v.  5.  The  stones 
and  timber  are  laid  down,  turned  over 
and  over,  and  hewed,  ere  they  be  set  up 
in  the  building;  and  not  just  set  up  as 
they  come  out  of  the  quarry  and  wood. 
Were  they  capable  of  a  choice,  such  of 
them  as  would  refuse  the  iron  tool  would 
be  refused  a  place  in  the  building.  Pray, 
how  think  ye  to  be  made  meet  for  heaven, 
by  the  warm  sunshine  of  this  world's  ease, 
and  getting  all  your  will  here  ?  Nay,  Sirs, 
that  would  put  your  mouth  out  of  taste 
for  the  joys  of  the  other  world.  Vessels 
of  dishonour  are  fitted  for  destruction  that 
way ;  but  vessels  of  honour  for  glory  by 
humbling  circumstances.  I  would  here 
say,  • 

(1.)  Will  nothing  please  you  but  two 
heavens,  one  here,  another  hereafter?  God 
has  secured  one  heaven  for  the  saints,  one 
place  where  they  shall  get  all  their  will, 
wish,  and  desire;  where  there  shall  be  no 
weight  on  them  to  hold  them  down  ;  and 
that  is  in  the  other  world.     But  you  must 


174  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

have  it  both  here  and  there,  or  you  cannot 
digest  it.  Why  do  you  not  quarrel  too 
that  there  are  not  two  summers  in  one 
year;  two  days  in  twenty-four  hours? 
The  order  of  the  one  heaven  is  as  firm  as 
that  of  the  years  and  days,  and  you  will 
not  reverse  it :  therefore,  choose  you  whe- 
ther you  will  take  your  night  or  your  day 
first,  your  winter  or  your  summer,  your 
heaven  here  or  hereafter. 

(2.)  Without  being  humbled  with  hum- 
bling circumstances  in  this  life,  you  are 
not  capable  of  heaven,  2  Cor.  v.  5.  '  Now, 
he  that  hath  wrought  us  for  the  self-same 
thing  is  God.'  You  may  indeed  lie  at 
ease  here  in  a  bed  of  sloth,  and  dream  of 
heaven  big  with  hopes  of  a  fool's  para- 
dise, wishing  to  cast  yourselves  just  out 
of  Delilah's  lap  into  Abraham's  bosom ; 
but  without  you  be  humbled  you  are  not 
capable. 

(1.)  Of  the  Bi^e-heaven,  that  heaven 
described  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 
Is  not  that  heaven  a  lifting  up  in  due  time  ? 
But,  how  shall  you  be  lifted  up  that  are 
never  well  got  down?  Where  will  your 
tears  be  to  be  wiped  away  ?  What  place 
will  there  be  for  your  triumph,  that  will 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  175 

not  fight  the  good  fight  ?  How  can  it  be  a 
rest  to  you,  who  cannot  away  with  labour  ? 

(2.)  Of  the  saints'  heaven,  Rev.  vii.  14. 
'And  he  said  unto  me,  These  are  they 
which  came  out  of  great  tribulation,  and 
have  washed  their  robes,  and  made  them 
white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.'  This 
answers  the  question  touching  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  all  the  saints  with 
them  there :  they  were  brought  down  to 
the  dust  with  humbling  circumstances, 
and  out  of  these  they  came  before  the 
throne.  How  can  you  ever  think  to  be 
lifted  up  with  them,  with  whom  you  can- 
not think  to  be  brought  down  ? 

(3.)  Of  Christ's  heaven,  Heb.  xii.  2. 
'  Who  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  him, 
endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame, 
and  is  now  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of 
God/  O  !  consider  how  the  Forerunner 
made  his  way,  Luke  xxiv.  26.  '  Ought 
not  Christ  to  have  suffered  these  things, 
and  to  enter  into  his  glory  V  And  lay  your 
accounts  with  it,  that  if  you  get  where  he 
is,  you  must  go  thither  as  he  went,  Luke 
ix.  23.  '  And  he  said,  If  any  man  will 
come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and 
take  up  his  cross  daily,  and  follow  me/ 


176  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

10.  Give  up  at  length  with  your  tower- 
ing hopes  from  this  world,  and  confine 
them  to  the  world  to  come.  Be  as  pil- 
grims and  strangers  here,  looking  for  your 
rest  in  heaven,  and  not  till  you  come  there. 
There  is  a  prevailing  evil,  Isai.  lvii.  10. — 
'  Thou  art  wearied  in  the  greatness  of  thy 
way :  yet  saidst  thou  not,  There  is  no 
hope.'  So  the  Babel- building  is  still  con- 
tinued, though  it  has  fallen  down  again 
and  again  :  For  men  say,  '  The  bricks  are 
fallen  down,  but  we  will  build  with  hewn 
stones ;  the  sycamores  are  cut  down,  but 
we  will  change  them  into  cedars/  Isai. 
ix.  10.  This  makes  humbling  work  very 
tedious;  we  are  so  hard  to  quit  the 
hold  of  the  creature,  to  fall  off  from  the 
breast  and  be  weaned  :  but  fasten  your 
grasp  on  the  other  world,  and  let  this 
go;  so  shall  you  'be  humbled'  indeed 
under  '  the  mighty  hand.'  The  faster 
you  hold  the  happiness  of  that  world, 
the  easier  will  it  be  to  accommodate 
yourselves  to  your  humbling  circum- 
stances here. 

11.  Make  use  of  Christ  in  all  his  offices, 
for  your  humiliation  under  your  humbling 
circumstances.     That  only  is  kindly  hu- 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  177 

miliation  that  comes  in  that  way,  Zech. 
xii.  10.  '  And  they  shall  look  upon  me 
whom  they  have  pierced,  and  they  shall 
mourn,'  &c.  That  you  must  do  by  trust- 
ing on  him  for  that  effect, 

(1.)  As  a  Priest  for  you.  You  have  a 
conscience  full  of  guilt,  and  that  will  make 
one  uneasy  in  any  circumstances,  and  far 
more  in  humbling  circumstances;  it  will 
be  like  a  thorn  in  the  shoulder  on  which 
a  burden  is  laid.  But  the  blood  of  Christ 
will  purge  the  conscience,  draw  out  the 
thorn,  give  ease,  Isa.  xxxiii.  24.  and  fit 
for  service,  doing  or  suffering,  Heb.  ix.  1 4. 
*  How  much  more  shall  the  blood  of  Christ 
—  purge  your  conscience  from  dead  works 
to  serve  the  living  God?' 

(2.)  As  your  JProp/zeHo teach  you.  We 
have  need  to  be  taught  rightly  to  discern 
our  humbling  circumstances;  for,  often 
we  mistake  them  so  far,  that  they  prove 
an  oppressive  load ;  whereas,  could  we 
rightly  see  them,  just  as  God  sets  them  to 
us,  they  would  be  humbling,  but  not  so 
oppressive.  Truly  we  need  Christ,  and 
the  light  of  his  word  and  spirit,  to  let  us 
see  our  cross  and  trial  as  well  as  our  duty, 
Psal.  xxv.  9,  10. 

N 


178  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

(3.)  As  your  King.  You  have  a  stiff 
heart,  loth  to  bow  even  in  humbling  cir- 
cumstances :  take  a  lesson  from  Moses 
what  to  do  in  such  a  case,  Exod.  xxxiv.  9. 
1  And  he  said,  Let  my  Lord,  I  pray  thee, 
go  amongst  us,  (for  it  is  a  stiff-necked  peo- 
ple,) and  pardon  our  iniquity  and  our  sin.' 
Put  it  in  his  hands  that  is  strong  and 
mighty,  Psal.  xxiv.  8.  He  is  able  to  cause 
it  to  melt,  and,  like  wax  before  the  fire, 
turn  to  the  seal. 

Think  on  these  directions,  in  order  to 
put  them  in  practice,  remembering,  that 
if  ye  know  these  things,  happy  are  ye  if  ye 
do  them.  Remember  humbling  work  is 
a  work  that  will  fill  your  hand,  while  you 
live  here,  and  that  you  cannot  come  to  the 
end  of  till  death;  and  humbling  circum- 
stances will  attend  you,  while  you  are  in 
this  lower  world.  A  change  of  them  you 
may  get ;  but  a  freedom  from  them  you 
cannot,  till  you  come  to  heaven.  So  the 
humbling  circumstances  of  our  imperfec- 
tions, relations,  contradictions,  afflictions, 
uncertainties,  and  sinfulness,  will  afford 
matter  of  exercise  to  us  while  here. — 
What  remains  of  the  purpose  of  this  text, 
I  shall  comprise  in, 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT,  179 


Doct.  II.  There  is  a  due  time,  wherein 
those  that  now  humble  themselves  under 
the  mighty  hand  oj'  God  will  certainly 
be  lifted  up.     We  shall  take, 

I.  A  general  view  of  this  point.  And 
consider, 

1st.  Some  things  supposed  and  implied 
in  it.     It  bears, 

1.  That  those  who  shall  share  of  this 
lifting  up,  must  lay  their  accounts,  in  the 
first  place,  with  a  casting  down,  Rev.  vii. 
14.,  John  xvi.  33.  '  In  the  world  ye  shall 
have  tribulation.'  There  is  no  coming  to 
the  promised  land,  according  to  the  settled 
method  of  grace,  but  through  the  wilder- 
ness ;  nor  entering  into  this  exaltation, 
but  through  a  strait  gate.  If  we  cannot 
away  with  the  casting  down,  we  shall  not 
taste  of  the  sweet  of  the  lifting  up. 

2.  Being  cast  down  by  the  mighty  hand 
of  God,  we  must  learn  to  lie  still  and  quiet 
under  it,  till  the  same  hand  that  cast  us 
down,  raise  us  up,  if  we  would  share  of 
this  promised  lifting  up,  Lam.  iii.  27.  It 
is  not  the  being  cast  down  into  humbling 

M  2 


180  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

circumstances,  by  the  Providence  of  God, 
but  the  submitting  of  our  spirits  under 
them,  by  the  grace  of  God,  that  brings  us 
within  the  compass  of  this  promise. 

3.  Never  humbled  in  humbling  circum- 
stances, never  lifted  up  in  the  way  of  this 
promise.  Men  may  keep  their  spirits  on 
the  high  bend  in  their  humbling  circum- 
stances, and  in  that  case  may  obtain  a  lift- 
ing up,  Prov.  xvi.  19.  But  note  this,  what 
they  gain  will  be  a  lifting  up,  to  the  end 
they  may  have  the  more  grievous  fall. 
'  Surely  thou  didst  set  them  in  slippery 
places,  thou  castest  them  down  in  a  mo- 
ment,' Psalm  lxxiii.  18.  But  they  who 
will  not  humble  themselves  in  humbling 
circumstances,  will  find  their  obstinacy 
as  a  nail,  that  will  keep  their  misery  ever 
fast  on  them  without  remedy. 

4.  Humility  of  spirit  in  humbling  cir- 
cumstances, ascertains  a  lifting  up  out  of 
tliem  some  time,  with  the  good-will  and 
favour  of  heaven,  Luke  xviii.  14.  '  I  tell 
you  this  man  went  down  to  his  house  jus- 
tified rather  than  the  other  ;  for  every  one 
that  exalteth  himself  shall  be  abased,  and 
he  that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted.' 
Solomon  observes,  Prov.  xv.  1.  that  '  a 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  181 

soft  answer  turneth  away  wrath ;  but 
grievous  words  stir  up  anger.'  And  so  it 
is,  that  while  the  proud,  through  their  ob- 
stinacy, do  but  wreathe  the  yoke  faster 
about  their  own  necks,  the  yielding  hum- 
ble ones,  by  their  yielding,  make  their  re- 
lief sure,  1  Sam.  ii.  8,  9,  10.  '  Heraiseth 
the  poor  out  of  the  dust,  and  lifteth  up  the 
beggar  from  the  dunghill,  to  set  them 
among  princes,  and  to  make  them  inherit 
the  throne  of  glory.  He  will  keep  the 
feet  of  his  saints,  and  the  wicked  shall  be 
silent  in  darkness;  for  by  strength  shall 
no  man  prevail.  The  adversaries  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  broken  in  pieces.'  So  the 
cannon-ball  breaks  down  a  stone  wail, 
while  the  yielding  packs  of  wool  take  away 
its  force. 

5.  There  is  an  appointed  time  for  the 
lifting  up  of  those  that  humble  themselves 
in  their  humbling  circumstances,  Hab.  ii.  3. 
'  For  the  vision  is  yet  for  an  appointed 
time,  but  at  the  end  it  shall  speak  and  not 
lie  :  though  it  tarry,  wait  for  it ;  because 
it  will  surely  come,  it  will  not  tarry/  To 
every  thing  there  is  a  time,  as  for  hum- 
bling, so  for  lifting  up,  Eccles.  iii.  3.  We 
know  it  not,  but  God  knows  it,  who  hath 


182  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

appointed  it.  Let  not  the  humble  one 
say,  I  will  never  be  lifted  up;  there  is  a 
time  fixed  for  it,  as  precisely  as  for  the 
rising  of  the  sun  after  the  long  and  dark 
night,  or  the  return  of  the  spring  after  the 
long  and  sharp  winter. 

6.  It  is  not  to  be  expected,  that  imme- 
diately upon  one's  humbling  himself)  the 
lifting  up  is  to  follow.  No  :  one  is  not  to 
lie  down  under  the  mighty  hand,  but  lie 
still,  waiting  the  due  time ;  humbling  work 
is  tedious  work ;  the  Israelites  had  forty 
years  of  it  in  the  wilderness.  God's  peo- 
ple must  be  brought  to  put  a  blank  in  his 
hand,  as  to  the  time;  and  while  they  have 
a  long  night  of  walking  in  darkness,  must 
trust,  Isa.  1.  10.  '  Who  is  among  you 
that  feareth  the  Lord,  that  obeyeth  the 
voice  of  his  servant,  that  walketh  in  dark- 
ness and  hath  no  light?  Let  him  trust  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  stay  upon  his 
God.' 

7.  Theappointed  time  for  the  lifting  up 
is  the  due  time,  the  time  fittest  for  it, 
wherein  it  will  come  most  seasonably. 
*  And  let  us  not  be  weary  in  well-doing  ; 
for,  in  due  season  we  shall  reap,  if  we 
faint  not/  Gal.  vi.  9.     For  that  is  the  time 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  183 

God  has  chosen  for  it;  and  be  sure  his 
choice,  as  the  choice  of  infinite  wisdom, 
is  the  best;  and  therefore  faith  sets  to 
wait  it,  Isa.xxviii.  16.  'He  that  believeth 
shall  not  make  haste.'  There  is  much  of 
the  beauty  of  a  thing  depends  on  the 
timing  of  it,  and  he  has  fixed  that  in  all 
that  he  does,  Eccles.iii.il.  'He  hath 
made  every  thing  beautiful  in  his  time/ 

8.  The  lifting  up  of  the  humble  will 
not  fail  to  come  in  the  appointed  and  due 
time,  Hab.  ii.  3.  Time  makes  no  halting, 
in  its  running  day  and  night;  so  the  due 
time  is  fast  coming,  and,  when  it  comes, 
it  will  bring  the  lifting  up  along  with  it. 
Let  the  humbling  circumstances  be  ever 
so  low,  ever  so  hopeless,  it  is  impossible 
but  the  lifting  up  from  them  must  come  in 
the  due  time. 

II.  A  word,  in  the  genral,  to  the  lift- 
ing vp,  abiding  those  that  humble  them- 
selves.    There  is  a  two-fold  lifting  up. 

1.  A  partial  lifting  up,  competent  to  the 
humbled  in  time,  during  this  life,  Psalm 
xxx.  1.  'I  will  extol  thee,  O  Lord,  for 
thou  hast  lifted  me  up,  and  hast  not  made 
my  foes  to  rejoice  over  me.'     This  is  a 


184  THE    CROOK    IN    THF.    LOT. 

lifting  up  in  part,  and  but  in  part,  not 
wholly  ;  and  such  liftings  up  the  humbled 
may  expect,  while  in  this  world,  but  no 
more. — These  give  a  breathing  to  the 
weary,  a  change  of  burdens,  but  do  not 
set  them  at  perfect  ease.  So  Israel, in  the 
wilderness,  in  the  midst  of  their  many 
mourning  times,  had  some  singing  ones, 
Exod.  xv.  1.,  Numbers  xxi.  17. 

2.  A  total  lifting  up,  competent  to 
them  at  the  end  of  time,  at  death,  Luke 
xvi.  22.  '  It  came  to  pass,  that  the 
beggar  died,  and  was  carried,  by  the 
angels,  into  Abraham's  bosom.'  Then 
the  Lord  deals  with  them  no  more  by 
parcels  and  halves,  but  carries  their  relief 
to  perfection,  Heb.  xii.  23.  Then  he  takes 
oft"  all  their  burdens,  eases  them  of  all 
their  weights,  and  lays  no  more  on  for 
ever.  He  then  lifts  them  up  to  a  height 
they  were  never  at  before  ;  no,  not  even 
at  their  highest.  He  sets  them  quite 
above  all  that  is  low,  and  therein  fixes 
them,  never  to  be  brought  down  more. 
Now,  there  is  a  due  time  for  both  these. 

(I.)  For  the  partial  Mh'mg  up.  Every 
time  is  not  fit  for  it;  we  are  not  always  fit 
to  receive  comfort,  an  ease  or  a  change  of 


THE    CROOK    IX     THE    LOT.  185 

our  burdens.  God  sees  there  are  times 
wherein  it  is  needful  for  his  people  to  be 
'in  heaviness/  1  Pet.  i.  6.  to  have  their 
'hearts  brought  down  with  grief,'  Psalm 
cvii.  12.  But  then  there  is  a  time  really 
appointed  for  it  in  the  divine  wisdom, 
when  he  will  think  it  as  needful  to  com- 
fort them,  as  before  to  bring  down,  2  Cor. 
ii.  7.  '  So  that,  contraryways,  ye  ought 
rather  to  forgive,  and  comfort  him,  lest 
perhaps  such  an  one  should  be  swallowed 
up  with  over  much  sorrow.'  We  are,  in 
that  case,  in  the  hand  of  God,  as  in  the 
hand  of  our  physician,  who  appoints  the 
time  the  drawing  plaister  shall  be  applied, 
and  leaves  it  not  to  the  patient. 

(2.)  For  the  total  lifting  up.  When 
we  are  sore  oppressed  with  our  burdens, 
we  are  ready  to  think,  O  to  be  away,  and 
set  beyond  them  all,  Job  vii.  2,  3.  '  As  a 
servant  earnestly  desireth  the  shadow, 
and  as  a  hireling  looketh  for  the  reward 
of  his  work;  so  am  I  made  to  possess 
months  of  vanity,  and  wearisome  nights 
are  appointed  me.'  But  it  may  be  fit- 
ter, for  all  that,  that  we  stay  a  while, 
and  wrestle  with  our  burdens,  Phil.  i.  24, 
25.     'Nevertheless,  to  abide  in  the  flesh 


186       '    TIIK    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

is  more  needful  for  you.  And  having 
this  confidence,  I  know  that  I  shall  abide 
and  continue  with  you  all,  for  your  fur- 
therance and  joy  of  faith.'  A  few  days 
might  have  taken  Israel  out  of  Egypt  into 
Canaan ;  but  they  would  have  been  over 
soon  there,  if  they  had  made  all  that 
speed;  so  they  behoved  to  spend  forty 
years  in  the  wilderness,  till  their  due  time 
of  entering  Canaan  should  come.  And 
be  sure  the  saints  entering  heaven,  will  be 
convinced,  that  the  time  of  it  is  best 
chosen,  and  there  will  be  a  beauty  in  that 
it  was  not  sooner.  And  thus  a  lifting  up 
is  secured  for  the  humble. 

III.  The  certainty  of  the  lifting  up  of 
those  that  humble  themselves  under  the 
humbling  circumstances.  If  one  would 
assure  you,  when  reduced  to  poverty, 
that  the  time  should  certainly  come  yet 
that  ye  should  be  rich;  when  sore  sick, 
that  ye  should  not  die  of  that  disease,  but 
certainly  recover  ;  that  would  help  you  to 
bear  your  poverty  and  sickness  the  better, 
and  you  would  comfort  yourselves  with 
that  prospect.  However,  one  may  con- 
tinue  poor,  and  never  be  rich,  may  be 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  187 

sick,  and  die  of  his  disease  ;  but  whoever 
humble  themselves  under  their  humbling 
circumstances,  we  can  assure  them  from 
the  Lord's  word  they  shall  certainly,  with- 
out all  peradventure,  be  lifted  up  out  of, 
and  relieved  from,  their  humbling  circum- 
stances :  they  shall  certainly  see  the  day 
of  their  ease  and  relief,  when  they  shall 
remember  their  burdens  as  waters  that 
fail.  And  ye  may  be  assured  thereof, 
from  the  following  considerations. 

1.  The  nature  of  God,  duly  considered, 
ensures  it,  Psalm  ciii.  8,  9.  The  Lord  is 
merciful  and  gracious,  slow  to  anger,  and 
plenteous  in  mercy.  He  will  not  always 
chide;  neither  will  he  keep  his  anger  for 
ever.  The  humbled  soul,  looking  to  God 
in  Christ,  may  see  three  things  in  his  na- 
ture jointly  securing  it. 

(1.)  Infinite  power,  that  can  do  all 
things.  No  circumstances  are  so  low, 
but  he  can  raise  them;  so  entangling  and 
perplexing,  but  he  can  unravel  them;  so 
hopeless,  but  he  can  remedy  them,  Gen. 
xviii.  14.  '  Is  any  thing  too  hard  for  the 
Lord?'  Be  our  case  what  it  will,  it  is 
never  past  reach  with  him  to  help  it;  but 
then  it  is  the  most  proper  season  for  him 


188  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

to  take  in  hand,  when  all  others  have 
given  it  over,  Deut.  xxxii.  36.  '  For  the 
Lord  shall  judge  his  people,  and  repent 
himself  for  his  servants  ;  when  he  seeth 
that  their  power  is  gone,  and  there  is 
none  shut  up,  or  left.' 

(2.)  Infinite  goodness  inclining  to  help. 
He  is  good  and  gracious  in  his  nature, 
Exod.  xxxiv.  6—9.  And  therefore  his 
power  is  a  spirit  of  comfort  to  them, 
Horn.  xiv.  4.  Men  may  be  willing  that 
are  not  able,  or  able  that  are  not  willing  ; 
but  infinite  goodness,  joining  infinite 
power  in  God,  may  ascertain  the  hum- 
bled of  a  lifting  up  in  due  time.  That  is  a 
word  of  inconceivable  sweetness,  1  John 
iv.  16.  'And  we  know  and  believe  the 
love  that  God  hath  to  us.  God  is  love; 
and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love,  dwelleth 
in  God,  and  God  in  him/  He  has  the 
bowels  of  a  father  towards  the  humble, 
Psa.  ciii.  13.  '  Like  as  a  father  pitieth 
his  children,  so  the  Lord  pitieth  them  that 
fear  him.7  Yea,  bowels  of  mercy  more 
tender  than  a  mother  to  her  sucking  child, 
Isa.  xlix.  15.  Wherefore,  howbeithis  wis- 
dom may  see  it  necessary  to  put  them  in 
humbling  circumstances,  and  keep  them 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  189 

in  them  for  a  time,  it  is  not  possible  he 
can  leave  them  in  them  for  altogether. 

(3.)  Infinite  wisdom,  that  doth  nothing 
in  vain,  and  therefore  will  not  needlessly 
keep  one  in  humbling  circumstances, 
Lam.  iii.  32,  33.  '  But  though  he  cause 
grief,  yet  he  will  have  compassion  accord- 
ing to  the  multitude  of  his  mercies ;  for 
he  doth  not  afflict  willingly,  nor  grieve  the 
children  of  men.'  God  sends  them  on 
for  humbling,  as  the  end  and  design  to  be 
brought  about  by  them;  when  that  is  ob- 
tained, and  there  is  no  more  use  for  them 
that  way,  we  may  assure  ourselves  they 
will  be  taken  off. 

2.  The  providence  of  God,  viewed  in  its 
stated  method  of  procedure  with  its  ob- 
jects, ensures  it.  Turn  your  eyes  which 
way  you  will  on  the  divine  providence, 
you  may  conclude  thence,  that  in  due 
time  the  humble  will  be  lifted  up. 

(1.)  Observe  the  providence  of  God,  in 
the  revolutions  of  the  whole  course  of 
nature,  day  succeeding  to  the  longest 
night,  a  summer  to  the  winter,  a  waxing 
to  a  waning  of  the  moon,  a  Mowing  to  an 
ebbing  of  the  sea,  &c.  Let  not  the  Lord's 
humbled  ones  be  idle  spectators  of  these 


190  THE    CROOK    IS    THE    LOT. 

things ;  they  are  for  our  learning,  Jer. 
xxxii.  35,  36,  37.  '  Thus  saith  the  Lord, 
which  giveth  the  sun  for  a  light  by  day, 
and  the  ordinances  of  the  moon,  and  of 
the  stars  for  a  light  by  night,  which  divi- 
deth  the  sea,  when  the  waters  thereof  roar; 
the  Lord  of  hosts  is  his  name.  If  these 
ordinances  depart  from  before  me,  saith 
the  Lord,  then  the  seed  of  Israel  shall  cease 
from  being  a  nation  before  me  for  ever/ 
Will  the  Lord's  hand  keep  such  a  steady 
course  in  the  earth,  sea,  and  visible  hea- 
vens, as  to  bring  a  lifting  up  in  them  after 
a  casting  down,  and  only  forget  his  hum- 
bled ones?     No,  by  no  means. 

(2.)  Observe  the  providence  of  God,  in 
the  dispensations  thereof,  about  the  Man 
Christ,  the  most  noble  and  august  object 
thereof,  more  valuable  than  a  thousand 
worlds,  Col.  ii.  9.  Did  not  providence 
keep  this  course  with  him,  first  humbling 
him,  then  exalting  him,  and  lifting  him 
up  ?  first  bringing  him  to  the  dust  of 
death,  in  a  course  of  sufferings  thirty- 
three  years,  then  exalt  him  to  the  Father's 
right  hand  in  eternity  of  glory  ?  Heb. 
xii.  2.  '  Who,  for  the  joy  that  was  set 
before  him,  endured  the  cross,  despising 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  191 

the  shame,  and  is  now  set  down  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God/  Phil.  ii. 
8,  9.  '  And  being  found  in  fashion  as 
a  man,  he  humbled  himself,  and  became 
obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of 
the  cross:  Wherefore  God  hath  also  high- 
ly exalted  him.'  The  exaltation  could  not 
fail  to  follow  his  humiliation,  Luke  xxiv. 
26.  '  Ought  not  Christ  to  have  suffered 
these  things,  and  to  enter  into  his  glory  V 
And  he  saw  and  believed  it  would  follow, 
as  the  springing  of  the  seed  doth  the  sow- 
ing it,  John  xii.  24.  There  is  a  near  con- 
cern the  humbled  in  the  humbling  circum- 
stances have  herein. 

(1.)  This  is  the  pattern  Providence 
copies  after  in  its  conduct  towards  you. 
The  Father  was  so  well  pleased  with  this 
method,  in  the  case  of  his  own  Son,  that 
it  was  determined  to  be  followed,  and 
just  copied  over  again  in  the  case  of  all 
the  heirs  of  glory,  Rom.  viii.  29.  '  For 
whom  he  did  foreknow,  he  also  did  pre- 
destinate to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of 
his  Son,  that  he  might  be  the  first-born 
among  many  brethren.'  And  who  would 
not  be  pleased  to  walk  through  the  dark 
valley  treading  his  steps? 


192  THE    CROOK    IN     THE    LOT. 

(2.)  This  is  a  sure  pledge  of  your  lifting 
up.  Christ,  in  his  state  of  humiliation, 
was  considered  as  a  public  Person  and 
Jtepresentative,  and  so  is  he  in  his  ex- 
altation. So  Christ's  exaltation  insures 
your  exaltation  out  of  your  humbling  cir- 
cumstances, Isa.  xxvi.  19.  *  Thy  dead 
men  shall  live,  together  with  my  dead 
body  shall  they  arise ;  awake  and  sing, 
ye  that  dwell  in  the  dust,'  IIos.  vi.  1,2. 
'  Come  and  let  us  return  unto  the  Lord : 
for  he  hath  torn,  and  he  will  heal  us ;  he 
hath  smitten,  and  he  will  bind  us  up. 
After  two  days  he  will  revive  us :  in  the 
third  day,  he  will  raise  us  up,  and  we 
shall  live  in  his  sight/  Eph.  ii.  6.  '  And 
hath  raised  us  up  together,  and  made  us 
sit  together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ 
Jesus.'  Yea,  he  is  gone  into  the  state  of 
glory  for  us  as  our  forerunner,  Ileb.  vi. 
20.  '  Whither  the  forerunner  is  for  us 
entered,  even  Jesus,  made  a  High  Priest 
for  ever.' 

(3.)  His  humiliation  was  the  price  of 
your  exaltation,  and  his  exaltation  a  full 
testimony  of  the  acceptance  of  its  pay- 
ment to  the  full.  There  are  no  humbling 
circumstances  vou  are  in,  but  you  would 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  193 

have  perished  in  them,  had  not  he  pur- 
chased your  lifting  up  out  of  them  by  his 
own  humiliation,  Isa.  xxvi.  19.  Now, 
his  humbling  grace  in  you  is  an  evidence 
of  the  acceptance  of  his  humiliation  for 
your  lifting  up. 

3.  Observe  the  providence  of  God  to- 
wards the  church  in  all  ages.  This  has 
been  the  course  the  Lord  has  kept  with 
her,  Psa.  cxxix.  1 — 4.  Abel  was  slain  by 
the  wicked  Cain,  to  the  great  grief  of 
Adam  and  Eve,  and  the  rest  of  their 
pious  children ;  but  then  there  was  an- 
other seed  raised  up  in  Abel's  room  after, 
Genesis  iv.  25.  Noah  and  his  sons  were 
buried  alive  in  the  ark  more  than  a  year: 
but  then  they  were  brought  out  into  a 
new  world  and  blessed.  Abraham  for 
many  years  went  childless;  but  at  length 
Isaac  was  born.  Israel  was  long  in 
miserable  bondage  in  Egypt  ;  but  at 
length  seated  in  the  promised  land,  &c. 
We  must  be  content  to  go  by  the  foot- 
steps of  the  flock  ;  and  if  in  humiliation, 
we  shall  surely  follow  them  in  exaltation 
too. 

4.  Observe  the  providence  of  God  in 
the  dispensation  of  his  grace  towards  his 

o 


194  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

children.  The  general  rule  is,  1  Pet.  v.  5. 
1  For  God  resisteth  the  proud,  and  giveth 
grace  to  the  humble/  How  are  they 
brought  into  a  state  of  grace?  Is  it  notf 
by  a  sound  work  of  humiliation  going 
before?  Luke  vi.  48.  And  ordinarily 
the  greater  measure  of  grace  is  designed 
for  one,  the  deeper  is  their  humiliation 
before,  as  in  Paul's  c?se.  If  they  are  to 
be  recovered  out  of  a  backslidden  case, 
the  same  method  is  followed :  so  that 
deepest  humiliation  ordinarily  makes  way 
for  the  greatest  comforts,  and  the  darkest 
hour  goes  before  the  rising  of  the  Sun 
of  Righteousness  upon  them,  Isa.  lxvi. 
5— 13. 

5.  Observe  the  providence  of  God  at 
length  throwing  down  wicked  men,  how- 
ever long  they  stand  and  prosper,  Fsa. 
xxxvii.  35,  36.  *  I  have  seen  the  wicked 
in  great  power,  and  spreading  himself  like 
a  green  bay  tree ;  yet  he  passed  away, 
and  lo  he  was  not;  yea,  I  sought  him  but 
he  could  not  be  found.'  They  are  long 
green  before  the  sun,  but  at  length  they 
are  suddenly  smitten  with  an  east  wind, 
and  wither  away  ;  their  lamp  goes  out, 
and   they  are  thrust  into  obscure  dark- 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  195 

ness.  Now,  it  is  inconsistent  with  the 
benignity  of  the  divine  nature,  to  forget 
the  humble  to  raise  them,  while  he  minds 
the  proud  to  abase  them. 

The  word  of  God  puts  it  beyond  all 
peradventure,  which,  from  the  beginning, 
to  the  end,  is  the  humbled  saint's  security 
for  lifting  up,  Psa.  cxix.  49,  50.  '  Re- 
member the  word  unto  thy  servant,  upon 
which  thou  hast  caused  me  to  hope. — 
This  is  my  comfort  in  my  affliction ;  for 
thy  word  hath  quickened  me.'  His  word 
is  the  great  letter  of  his  name,  which 
he  will  certainly  cause  to  shine,  Psalm 
cxxxviii.  2.  '  For  thou  hast  magnified 
thy  word  above  all  thy  name ;'  and  in  all 
generations  hast  been  safely  trusted  to, 
Psa.  xii.  6.     Consider, 

(1.)  The  doctrines  of  the  word,  which 
teach  faith  and  hope  for  the  time,  and 
the  happy  issue  the  exercises  these  graces 
will  have.  The  whole  current  of  scrip- 
ture, to  those  in  humbling  circumstance?, 
is,  '  Not  to  cast  away  their  confidence, 
but  to  hope  to  the  end ;'  and  that  for 
this  good  reason,  that  '  it  shall  not  be 
in  vain.7  See  Psa.  xxvii.  14.  '  Wait 
on  the  Lord ;  be  of  good  courage,  and 
o2 


196  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

he  shall  strengthen  thine  heart ;  Wait,  I 
say,  on  the  Lord.'  And  compare,  Rom. 
ix.  33.  Isa.  xlix.  23.  '  For  they  shall 
not  be  ashamed  that  wait  for  me.' 

(2.)  The  promises  of  the  word,  whereby 
heaven  is  expressly  engaged  for  a  lifting 
up  to  those  that  humble  themselves  in 
humbling  circumstances,  James  iv.  10. 
1  Humble  yourselves  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord,  and  he  shall  lift  you  up.'  Matt, 
xxiii.  12.  '  And  he  that  humbleth  him- 
self shall  be  exalted.7  It  may  take  a 
time  to  prepare  them  for  lifting  up,  but 
that  being  done,  it  is  secured,  Psa.  x.  17. 
1  Lord,  thou  hast  heard  the  desire  of  the 
humble,  thou  wilt  prepare  their  heart ; 
thou  wilt  cause  thine  ear  to  hear.'  They 
have  his  word  for  deliverance,  Psa.  1.  15. 
And  though  they  may  seem  to  be  for- 
gotten, they  shall  not  be  always  so;  the 
time  of  their  deliverance  will  come,  Psa. 
ix.  18.  '  For  the  needy  shall  not  always 
be  forgotten  :  the  expectation  of  the  poor 
shall  not  perish  for  ever,  Psa.  cii.  17. 
'  He  will  regard  the  prayer  of  the  des- 
titute, and  not  despise  their  prayer.' 

(3.)  The  examples  of  the  word  suffi- 
ciently confirming  the  truth  of  the  doc- 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  197 

trines  and  promises,  Rom.  xv.  4.  'For 
whatsoever  things  were  written  afore 
time,  were  written  for  our  learning  ;  that 
we  through  patience  and  comfort  of  the 
scriptures  might  have  hope.7  In  the  doc- 
trines and  promises  the  lifting  up  is  pro- 
posed to  our  faith,  to  be  reckoned  on  the 
credit  of  God's  word ;  but,  in  the  ex- 
amples it  is,  in  the  case  of  others,  set 
before  our  eyes  to  be  seen,  James  v.  11. 
'  Behold  we  count  them  happy  which  en- 
dure. Ye  have  heard  of  the  patience 
of  Job,  and  have  seen  the  end  of  the 
Lord  ;  that  the  Lord  is  very  pitiful,  and 
of  tender  mercy.'  There  we  see  it  in  the 
case  of  Abraham,  Job,  David,  Paul,  and 
other  saints;  but  above  all,  in  the  case  of 
the  Man  Christ. 

(4.)  The  intercession  of  Christ,  joining 
the  prayers  and  cries  of  his  humbled  peo- 
ple, in  their  humbling  circumstances,  en- 
sures a  lifting  up  for  them  at  length.  Be 
it  so,  that  the  proud  cry  not  when  he 
bindeth  them  ;  yet  his  own  humbled  ones 
will  not  do  so,  they  will  cry,  Ps.  xlii. 
7,  8.  '  Deep  calleth  unto  deep,  at  the 
noise  of  thy  water  spouts  ;  all  thy  waves 
and  thy  billows  are  gone  over  me.     Yet 


198  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

the  Lord  will  command  his  loving-kind- 
ness in  the  day-time,  and  in  the  night  his 
song  shall  be  with  me,  and  my  prayer 
unto  the  God  of  my  life.'  And  though 
unbelievers  may  soon  beoutwearied,  and 
give  it  over  altogether,  true  believers 
will  not  do  so  ;  but  though  they  may,  in 
a  fit  of  temptation,  lay  it  by  as  hopeless, 
they  will  find  themselves  obliged  to  take 
it  up  again,  Jer.  xx.  9.  '  Then  I  said,  I 
will  not  make  mention  of  him,  nor  speak 
any  more  in  his  name.  But  his  word  was 
in  mine  heart  as  a  burning  fire  shut  up  in 
my  bones,  and  I  was  weary  with  forbear- 
ing, and  I  could  not  stay;'  and  continue 
to  cry  on  night  and  day,  Luke  xviii.  7. 
knowing  no  time  for  giving  it  over  till 
they  be  lifted  up.  Lam.  iii.  49,  50.  'Mine 
eye  trickleth  down,  and  ceaseth  not,  with- 
out any  intermission ;  till  the  Lord  look 
down,  and  behold  from  heaven.'  Now, 
Christ's  intercession  being  joined  to  these 
cries,  there  cannot  miss  to  be  a  lifting  up. 
— Consider, 

(1.)  Christ's  intercession  is  certainly 
joined  with  the  cries  and  prayers  of  the 
humbled  in  their  humbling  circumstances. 
Rev.  viii.  3.     '  And  another  angel  came 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  199 

and  stood  at  the  altar,  having  a  golden 
censer;  and  there  was  given  unto  him 
much  incense,  that  he  should  offer  it  with 
the  prayers  of  all  saints  upon  the  golden 
altar  which  was  before  the  throne/  They 
are  by  the  Spirit  helped  to  groan  for  re- 
lief, Rom.  viii.  26,  and  the  prayers  and 
groans,  which  are  through  the  Spirit,  are 
certainly  to  be  made  effectual  by  the  in- 
tercession of  the  Son,  James  v.  16.  And 
ye  may  know  they  are  by  the  Spirit,  if  so 
be  ye  are  helped  to  continue  praying, 
hoping  for  your  suit  at  last  on  the  ground 
of  God's  word  of  promise;  for  nature's 
praying  is  a  pool  that  will  dry  up  in  a 
long  drought.  It  is  the  spirit  of  prayer 
is  the  lasting  spring,  John  iv.  14.  Psa. 
cxxxviii.  3.  'In  the  day  when  I  cried 
thou  answeredst  me;  and  strengthenedst 
me  with  strength  in  my  soul.'  Truly 
there  is  an  intercession  in  heaven,  on  ac- 
count of  the  humbling  circumstances  of 
the  humble  ones.  '  Then  the  angel  of 
the  Lord  answered  and  said,  O  Lord  of 
hosts,  how  long  wilt  thou  not  have 
mercy  on  Jerusalem,  and  on  the  cities  of 
Judah,  against  which  thou  hast  had  in- 
dignation these  threescore  and  ten  years?' 


200  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

Zech.  i.  12.     How  then  can  they  miss  of 
a  lifting  up  in  due  time? 

(2.)  He  is  in  deepest  earnest  in  his  in- 
tercession for  his  people  in  their  humbling 
circumstances.  Some  will  speak  a  good 
word  in  favour  of  the  helpless,  that  will 
be  little  concerned  whether  they  suc- 
ceed or  not ;  but  our  intercessor  is  in 
earnest  in  behalf  of  his  humbled  ones  ; 
for  he  is  touched  with  sympathy  in  their 
case,  Isa.  lxiii.  9.  '  In  all  their  afflictions 
he  was  afflicted.'  Amosttendersympathy, 
Zech.  ii.  8.  '  For  he  that  toucheth  you, 
toucheth  the  apple  of  his  eye/  He  has 
their  case  upon  his  heart,  where  he  is  in 
the  holy  place  in  the  highest  heavens, 
Exod.  xxviii.  29.  and  he  keeps  exact  ac- 
count of  the  time  of  their  humbling  cir- 
cumstances, be  it  as  long  as  it  will.  Zech. 
i.  12.  Moreover,  it  is  his  own  business ; 
the  lifting  up  they  are  to  have  is  a  thing 
that  is  secured  to  him,  in  the  promises 
made  to  him  on  the  account  of  his  blood 
shed  for  them,  Psa.  lxxxix.  33,  36.  So 
not  only  are  they  looking  on  earth,  but  the 
Man  Christ  is  in  heaven  looking  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  these  promises,  Heb.  x. 
12,13.  «  But  this  man,  after  he  had  offered 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  201 

one  sacrifice  for  sins,  for  ever  sat  down 
on  the  right  hand  of  God;  from  hence- 
forth expecting  till  his  enemies  be  made 
his  footstool/  How  is  it  possible,  then,  that 
looking  should  be  disappointed?  More- 
over, these  humbling  circumstances  are 
his  own  sufferings  still,  though  not  in 
his  person,  yet  in  his  members,  Col.  i.  24. 
i  Who  now  rejoice  in  my  sufferings  for 
you,  and  fill  up  that  which  is  behind  of 
the  afflictions  of  Christ  in  my  flesh,  for 
his  body's  sake,  which  is  the  church.' 
Wherefore  there  is  all  ground  to  conclude 
he  is  in  deep  earnest. 

(3.)  His  intercession  is  always  effec- 
tual. John  xi.  42.  '  And  I  know  that 
thou  hearest  me  always.'  It  cannot  miss 
to  be  so,  because  he  is  the  Father's 
well-beloved  Son ;  his  intercession  has 
a  plea  of  justice  for  the  ground  of  it, 
1  John  ii.  1 .  '  WTe  have  an  advocate  with 
the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous.' 
Moreover,  he  has  all  power  in  heaven 
and  earth  lodged  in  him,  1  John  v.  22. 
And,  finally,  he  and  his  Father  are  one, 
and  their  will  one.  So,  for  the  present 
time,  both  Christ  and  his  Father  do  will 


202  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

the  lifting  up  of  the  humble  ones,  but  yet 
only  in  due  time. 

Secondly,  I  proceed  to  a  more  parti- 
cular view  of  the  point.     And, 

1st,  We  will  consider  the  lifting  up  as 
brought  about  in  time,  which  is  the  partial 
lifting  up.     And, 

(1.)  Some  considerations  for  clearing 
the  nature  thereof. 

1.  This  lifting  up  does  not  take  place 
in  every  case  of  a  child  of  God.  One 
may  be  humbled  in  humbling  circum- 
stances, from  which  he  is  to  get  a  lifting 
up  in  time.  We  would  not  from  the 
promise  presently  conclude,  that  we  be- 
ing humbled  under  our  humbling  cir- 
cumstances, shall  certainly  be  taken  out 
of  them,  and  freed  from  them  ere  we 
get  to  the  end  of  our  journey.  For  it 
is  certain,  there  are  some,  such  as  our 
imperfections,  and  sinfulness,  and  mor- 
tality, we  can  by  no  means  be  rid  of 
while  in  this  world.  And  there  are  par- 
ticular humbling  circumstances  the  Lord 
may  hang  about  one,  and  keep  about 
him,  till  they  go  down  to  the  grave, 
while,  in  the  mean  time,  he  may  lift  up 


THE    CROOK    IK    THE    LOT.  203 

another  from  the  same.  Hem  an  was 
pressed  down  all  along  from  his  youth, 
Psalm  lxxxviii.  15.  others  all  their  life- 
time, Heb.  ii.  15. 

Object.  *  If  that  be  the  case,  what 
comes  of  the  promise  of  lifting  up  ? 
Where  is  the  lifting  up,  if  one  may  get 
to  the  grave  under  the  weight?' 

Ans.  Were  there  no  life  after  this, 
there  would  be  weight  in  that  objection  ; 
but  since  there  is  another  life,  there  is 
none  in  it  at  all.  In  the  other  life  the 
promise  will  be  accomplished  to  the  hum- 
bled, as  it  was,  Luke  xvi.  22.  Consider 
that  the  great  term  for  accomplishing 
the  promises,  is  the  other  life,  not  this. 
'  These  all  died  in  the  faith,  not  having 
received  the  promises,  but  having  seen 
them  afar  off,  and  were  persuaded  of 
them,  and  embraced  them,7  Heb.  xi.  13. 
And  that  whatever  accomplishment  of  the 
promise  is  here,  it  is  not  the  nature  of  the 
stock,  but  of  a  sample  or  a  pledge. 

Quest.  '  But  then,  may  we  not  give 
over  praying  for  the  lifting  up,  in  that 
case?' 

Ans.  We  do  not  know  when  that  is 
our  case  ;  for  a  case  may  be  past  all  hope 


204  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

in  our  eyes,  and  the  eyes  of  others,  in 
which  God  designs  a  lining  up  in  time, 
as  in  Job,  chap.  vi.  11.  '  What  is  my 
strength  that  I  should  hope?  and  what 
is  mine  end  that  I  should  prolong  my 
life?7  But,  be  it  as  it  will,  we  should 
never  give  over  praying  for  the  lifting 
up,  since  it  will  certainly  come  to  all 
that  pray  in  faith  for  it;  if  not  here,  yet 
hereafter.  The  promise  is  sure,  and  that 
is  the  commandment;  so  such  praying 
cannot  miss  of  a  happy  issue  at  length, 
Psalm  1.  15.  '  And  call  upon  me  in  the 
day  of  trouble;  I  will  deliver  thee,  and 
thou  shalt  glorify  me.'  The  whole  life 
of  a  Christian  is  such  a  praying,  waiting 
life,  to  encourage  whereunto  all  tempo- 
ral deliverances  are  given  as  pledges. 
Rom.  viii.  2  3.  '  And  not  only  they,  but 
ourselves  also,  which  have  the  first  fruits 
of  the  Spirt;  even  we  ourselves  groan 
within  ourselves,  waiting  for  the  adop- 
tion, even  the  redemption  of  our  body/ 
And  whoso  observes  that  full  lifting  up 
at  death  to  be  at  hand,  must  certainly 
rise,  if  he  has  given  over  his  case  as 
hopeless. 

2.    However,    there    are    some    cases 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE     LOT.  205 

wherein  this  lifting  up  does  take  place. 
God  gives  his  people  some  notable  lift- 
ings up,  even  in  time  raising  them  out 
of  remarkable  humbling  circumstances. 
The  storm  is  changed  into  a  calm,  and 
they  remember  it  as  waters  that  fail, 
Psalm  xl.  1 — 4.  Two  things  may  be 
observed  on  this. 

(1.)  One  may  be  in  humbling  circum- 
stances very  long,  and  sore,  and  hope- 
less, and  yet  a  lifting  up  may  be  abiding 
them,  of  a  much  longer  continuance. 
This  is  sometimes  the  case  of  the  chil- 
dren of  God,  who  are  set  to  bear  the 
yoke  in  their  youth,  as  it  was  with  Joseph 
and  David  ;  and  of  them  that  get  it  laid 
on  them  in  their  middle  age,  as  it  was 
with  Job,  who  could  not  be  less  than 
forty  at  his  trouble's  coming,  but  after  it 
lived  one  hundred  and  forty,  Job  xlii.  16. 
God  by  such  methods  prepares  man  for 
peculiar  usefulness. 

(2.)  One  may  be  in  humbling  circum- 
stances long  and  sore,  and  quite  hopeless 
in  the  ordinary  course  of  providence, 
yet  they  may  get  a  clear  and  warm  blink 
of  a  lifting  up,  ere  they  come  to  their 
journey's  end,  The  life  of  some  of  God's 
children  is  like  a  cloudy  and  rainy  day, 


206  THE    CROOK    IN    THE     LOT. 

wherein,  in  the  evening,  the  sun  breaks 
out  from  under  the  clouds,  shines  fair 
and  clear  a  little,  and  then  sets.  '  And 
it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  that 
the  light  shall  not  be  clear,  nor  dark. 
But  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  at  evening 
time  it  shall  be  light/  Zech.  xiv.  6,  7. 
Such  was  the  case  of  Jacob  in  his  old 
age,  brought  in  honour  and  comfort  into 
Egypt  unto  his  son,  and  then  died. 

(3.)  Yet  whatever  liftings  up  they 
get  in  this  life,  they  will  never  want 
some  weights  hanging  about  them  for 
their  humbling.  They  may  have  their 
singing  times,  but  their  songs  while  in 
this  world  will  be  mixed  with  groanings, 
2  Cor.  v.  4.  '  For  we  that  are  in  this 
tabernacle  do  groan,  being  burdened.' 
The  unmixed  dispensation  is  reserved  for 
the  other  world  :  but  this  will  be  a  wil- 
derness unto  the  end,  where  there  will 
be  bowlings  with  the  most  joyful  notes. 

Lastly,  All  the  liftings  up  the  hum- 
bled meet  with  now  are  pledges,  and 
but  pledges,  samples,  and  earnests  of 
the  great  lifting  up,  abiding  them  on  the 
other  side;  and  they  should  look  on  them 
so. 

(1.)  They  are  really  so,  Hos.  ii.  15. 


THE  CROOK  IN   THE  LOT.  207 

And  I  will  give  her  vineyards  from  thence, 
and  the  valley  of  Achorfor  a  door  of  hope  ; 
and  she  shall  sing  there  as  in  the  days  of  her 
youth,  and  as  in  the  day  when  she  came  up 
out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.  Our  Lord  Jesus 
is  leading  his  people  now  through  the 
wilderness,  and  the  manna  and  water  of 
the  rock  are  earnests  for  the  time  of  the 
milk  and  honey  flowing  in  the  promised 
land.  They  are  not  yet  come  home  to 
their  Father's  house,  but  they  are  travel- 
ling on  the  road,  and  Christ  their  elder 
Brother  with  them,  Song  iv.  8.  who  bears 
their  expenses,  takes  them  into  inns  by 
the  way,  as  it  were,  and  refreshes  them 
with  partial  liftings  up;  after  which,  they 
must  proceed  on  their  road  again.  But 
that  entertainment  by  the  way  is  a  pledge 
of  the  full  entertainment  he  will  afford 
them  when  they  arrive  at  home. 

Object.  '  But  people  may  get  a  lifting 
up  in  time,  that  yet  is  no  pledge  of  a  lift- 
ing up  on  the  other  side :  How  shall  I 
know  it  then  to  be  a  pledge?7 

Ans.  That  lifting  up  which  comes  by 
the  promises,  is  certainly  a  pledge  of  the 
full  lifting  up  in  the  other  world  ;  for,  as 
the  other  life  is  the  proper  time  of  the  ac- 
complishing of  the  promises,  so  we  may 


208         the  crook  in  the  lot. 

be  sure,  that  when  God  once  begins  to 
clear  his  bond,  he  will  certainly  hold  on 
till  it  is  fully  cleared.  '  The  Lord  will 
perfect  that  which  concerneth  me,'  Psalm 
cxxxviii.  8.  So  we  may  say  as  Naomi  to 
Ruth,  upon  her  receiving  the  six  measures 
of  barley  from  Boaz,  Ruth  iii.  18.  '  He 
will  not  be  in  rest  until  he  have  finished 
the  thing  this  day.'  There  are  liftings  up 
that  come  by  common  providence,  and 
these  indeed  are  single,  and  not  pledges 
of  more;  but  the  promise  chains  mercies 
together,  so  that  one  got  is  a  pledge  of 
another  to  come,  yea,  of  the  whole  chain 
to  the  end,  2  Sam.  v.  12. 

Quest.  '  But  how  shall  I  know  the  lift- 
ing up  to  come  by  the  way  of  the  pro- 
mise?' 

Ans.  That  which  comes  by  the  way  of 
the  promise,  does  at  once  come  the  low 
way  of  humiliation,  the  high  way  of  faith, 
or  believing  the  promise,  and  the  long 
way  of  waiting  hope  and  patient  con- 
tinuance, James  v.  7.  Be  patient  there- 
fore, brethren,unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord. 
Behold  the  husbandman  waiteth  for  the 
precious  fruit  of  the  earth,  and  hath  long 
patience  for  it  until  he  receive  the  early 
and  latter  rain.      Humility  qualifies   for 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  209 

the  accomplishment  of  the  promise,  faith 
sucks  the  breasts  of  it,  and  patient  waiting 
hangs  by  the  breast  till  the  milk  come 
abundantly. 

(2.)  But  no  lifting  up  of  God's  chil- 
dren here  are  any  more  than  pledges  of 
lifting  up.  God  gives  worldly  men  their 
stock  here,  but  his  children  get  nothing 
but  a  sample  of  their's  here,  Psalm  xvii. 
1 4.  Even  as  the  servant  at  the  term  gets 
his  fee  in  a  round  sum,  while  the  young 
heir  gets  nothing  but  a  few  pence  for 
spending  money.  The  truth  is,  the  same 
spending  money  is  more  valuable  than 
the  world's  stock,  Psalm  iv.  7.  '  Thou 
hast  put  gladness  in  my  heart,  more  than 
in  the  time  that  their  corn  and  their  wine 
increased.'  But  though  it  is  better  than 
that,  and  their  services  too,  and  more 
worth  than  all  their  waiting,  yet  it  is 
below  the  honour  of  their  God  to  put 
them  off'  with  it,  Heb.  xi.  16.  '  But  now 
they  desire  a  better  country,  that  is,  a 
heavenly ;  wherefore  God  is  not  ashamed 
to  be  called  their  God ;  for  he  hath  pre- 
pared for  them  a  city.' 

II.  The  part iul  lifting  up  itself.  What 
they  will  get,  getting  this  lifting  up  pro- 

p 


210  THE   CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

mised  to  the  humbled.  Why,  they  will 
get, 

1 .  A  removal  of  their  humbling  circum- 
stances. God  having  tried  them  awhile, 
and  humbled  them,  and  brought  down 
their  hearts,  will  at  length  take  off  their 
burden,  remove  the  weight  so  long  hung 
at  them,  and  so  take  them  off  that  part  of 
their  trial  joyfully,  and  let  them  get  up 
their  back  long  bowed  down  ;  and  this 
one  of  two  ways. 

(1.)  Either  in  kind,  removing  the  bur- 
den for  good  and  all.  Such  a  lifting  Job 
got,  when  the  Lord  turned  back  his  cap- 
tivity, increased  again  his  family  and  sub- 
stance, which  had  both  been  desolated. 
David,  when  Saul  his  persecutor  fell  in 
battle,  and  he  was  brought  to  the  king- 
dom after  many  a  weary  day,  expecting 
one  day  to  fall  by  his  hand.  It  is  easy 
with  our  God  to  make  such  turns  in  the 
most  humbling  circumstances. 

(2.)  Or  in  equivalent,  or  as  good,  re- 
moving the  weight  of  the  burden,  that 
though  it  remains,  it  presses  them  no 
more,  2  Cor.  xii.  9,  10.  '  And  he  said 
unto  me,  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee, 
for  my  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weak- 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.         211 

ness.  Most  gladly,  therefore,  will  I  rather 
glory  in  my  infirmities,  that  the  power 
of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me.  Therefore 
I  take  pleasure  in  mine  infirmities/ 
Though  they  are  not  got  to  the  shore,  yet 
their  head  is  no  more  under  the  water, 
but  lifted  up.  David  speaks  feelingly  of 
such  a  lifting  up,  Psa.  xxvii.  5,  6.  ■  For 
in  the  time  of  trouble  he  shall  hide  me  in 
his  pavilion  ;  in  the  secret  of  his  taberna- 
cle shall  he  hide  me;  he  shall  set  me  upon 
a  rock.  And  now  shall  mine  head  be 
lifted  up  above  mine  enemies  round  about 
me  ;  therefore  will  I  offer  in  his  taber- 
nacle sacrifices  of  joy  :  I  will  sing,  yea  I 
will  sing  praises  unto  the  Lord.'  Such 
had  the  three  children  in  the  fiery  fur- 
nace; the  fire  burnt,  but  it  could  burn 
nothing  of  them  but  their  bonds  ;  they 
had  the  warmth  and  light  of  it,  but  nothing 
of  the  scorching  heat.  Sometimes  God 
lifts  up  his  people  this  way  in  their  hum- 
bling circumstances. 

2.  A  comfortable  sight  of  the  accept- 
ance of  their  prayers,  put  up  their  hum- 
bling circumstances :  While  prayers  are 
not  answered,  but  trouble  continued,  the 
hangers  on  about  the  Lord's  hand  are  apt 
P  2 


212  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

to  think  they  are  not  accepted  or  regarded 
in  heaven,  because  there  is  no  alteration 
in  their  case,  Job  ix.  16,  17.  If  I  had 
called,  and  he  had  answered  me,  yet  would 
I  not  believe  that  he  had  hearkened  unto  my 
voice,  for  he  breaketh  me  with  a  tempest. 
But  that  is  a  mistake  ;  they  are  accepted 
immediately, though  not  answered,  1  John 
v.  14.  And  this  is  the  confidence  we  have 
in  him,  that  if  we  ask  any  thing  according 
to  his  will,  he  heareth  us.  The  Lord  does 
with  them  as  a  father,  with  the  letters 
coming  from  his  son  abroad,  reads  them 
one  by  one  with  pleasure,  and  carefully 
lays  them  up  to  be  answered  at  his  con- 
venience. And  when  the  answer  comes, 
the  son  will  know  how  acceptable  they 
were  to  his  father,  Matt.  xv.  28.  So 
here,  &c. 

3.  A  heart-satisfying  answer  of  these 
prayers,  that  is  so  as  they  shall  not  only 
get  the  thing,  but  see  they  have  it  as  an 
answer  of  prayer;  and  they  will  put  a 
double  value  on  the  mercy,  1  Sam.  ii.  1. 
Accepted  prayers  may  be  very  long  of 
answering,  many  years,  as  in  Abraham 
and  David's  case,  but  they  cannot  mis- 
carry of  an  answer  at  length,  Psalm  ix. 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  213 

18.  The  time  will  come  when  God  will 
tell  out  of  them,  according  to  the  promise, 
that  they  shall  change  their  note,  and  say, 
Psalm  cxvi.  1.  I  love  the  Lord,  because 
he  hath  heard  my  voice,  and  my  supplica- 
tion. Looking  on  their  lifting  up  as  bear- 
ing the  signature  of  the  hand  of  a  prayer- 
hearing  God. 

4.  Full  satisfaction,  as  to  the  conduct 
of  Providence,  in  all  the  steps  of  hum- 
bling circumstances,  and  the  delay  of  the 
lifting  up,  however  perplexing  these  were 
before,  Rev.  xv.  3.  Standing  on  the 
shore,  and  looking  back  to  what  they  have 
passed  through,  they  will  be  made  to  say, 
*  He  hath  done  all  things  well/  These 
things  which  are  bitter  to  Christians  in 
the  passing  through,  are  very  sweet  in 
the  reflection  on  them;  so  is  Samson's 
riddle  verified  in  their  experiences. 

5.  They  get  the  lifting  up,  together  with 
the  interest  for  the  time  they  lay  out  of  it. 
When  God  pays  his  bonds  of  promises, 
he  pays  both  stock  and  interest  together; 
the  mercy  is  increased  according  to  the 
time  man  waited  on,  and  the  expenses 
and  hardships  sustained,  during  the  de- 
pendance  of  the  process.    The  fruits  of 


2J4  THE    CROOK    IN    THE  LOT. 

common  providences  are  soon  ripe,  soon 
rotten;  but  the  fruit  of  the  promise  is 
readily  long  a  ripening,  but  then  it  is 
durable  ;  and  the  longer  it  is  a  ripening, 
it  is  the  more  valuable  when  it  comes. 
Abraham  and  Sarah  waited  for  the  pro- 
mise about  ten  years,  at  length  they 
thought  on  a  way  to  hasten  it,  Gen.  xvi. 
1 — 6.  That  soon  took  in  the  birth  of 
Ishmael,  but  he  was  not  the  promised 
son.  They  were  coming  into  extreme  old 
age  ere  the  promise  brought  forth,  Gen. 
xviii.  11.  But  when  it  came,  they  got  it 
with  an  addition  of  the  renewing  of  their 
ages,  Gen.  xxi.  7,  and  xxv.  1.  The  most 
valuable  of  all  the  promises  was  the 
longest  in  fulfilling,  viz.  the  promise  of 
Christ,  that  was  four  thousand  years. 

6.  The  spiritual  enemies,  that  flew 
thick  and  throng  about  them  in  the  time 
of  the  darkness  of  the  humbling  circum- 
stances, will  be  scattered  at  this  lifting 
up  in  the  promise,  1  Sam.  ii.  1.5.  '  And 
Hannah  prayed  and  said,  My  heart  re- 
joiceth  in  the  Lord,  my  mouth  is  enlarged 
over  mine  enemies.  They  that  were  full 
have  hired  out  themselves  for  bread,  and 
they  that  were   hungry  ceased.'      For- 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  215 

midable  was  Pharoah's  host  behind  the 
Israelites,  while  they  had  the  Red  Sea  be- 
fore them;  but  when  they  were  through 
the  sea,  they  saw  the  Egyptians  dead  on 
the  shore,  Exod.  xiv.  30.  Such  a  sight 
will  they  that  humble  themselves  under 
humbling  circumstances  get  of  their  spi- 
ritual enemies,  when  the  time  comes  for 
the  lifting  up. 

III.  The  due  time  of  this  lifting  up. 
That  is  a  very  natural  question  of  those  iu 
humbling  circumstances,  Watchman,  what 
of  the  night?  And  we  cannot  answer  it 
to  the  humbled  soul,  but  in  general,  Isa. 
xxi.  11, 12.  So  take  these  general  obser- 
vations on  it. 

1.  The  lifting  up  the  humbled  will  not 
be  long,  considering  the  weight  of  the 
matter;  that  is  to  say,  considering  the 
worth  and  value  of  the  lifting  up  of  the 
humble;  when  it  comes  it  can  by  no 
means  be  reckoned  long  to  the  time  of  it. 
When  you  sow  your  corn  in  the  fields, 
though  it  does  not  ripen  so  soon  as  some 
garden-seeds,  but  you  wait  three  months 
or  so,  yet  do  not  think  the  harvest  long 
a  coming,  considering  the  value  of  the 
crop.    This  view  the  apostle  takes  of  the 


216  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

lifting  up  in  humbling  circumstances, 
2  Cor.  iv.  17.  *  For  our  light  affliction, 
which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us 
a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight 
of  glory.'  So  that  a  believer,  looking  on 
the  promise  with  an  eye  of  faith,  and  per- 
ceiving its  accomplishment,  and  the  worth 
of  it  when  accomplished,  may  wonder  it 
is  come  in  so  short  a  time.  Therefore  it 
is  determined  to  be  a  time  that  comes 
soon,  Luke  xviii.  7,  soon  in  respect  of  its 
weight  and  worth. 

2.  When  the  time  comes,  it  and  only 
it  will  appear  the  due  time.  To  every  thing 
there  is  a  season,  and  a  great  part  of  wis- 
dom lies  in  discerning  it,  and  doing  things 
in  the  season  thereof.  And  we  may  be 
sure  Infinite  Wisdom  cannot  miss  the 
season,  by  mistaking  it,  Deut.  xxxii.  4. 
*  He  is  a  rock,  his  work  is  perfect ;  for  all 
his  ways  are  judgment.'  But  whatever 
God  doth  will  abide  the  strictest  examina- 
tion in  that,  as  all  other  points,  Eccles. 
iii.  14.  'I  know  that  whatsoever  God 
doth,  it  shall  be  forever;  nothing  can  be 
put  to  it,  nor  any  thing  taken  from  it : 
And  God  doth  it  that  men  may  fear  before 
him.'    It  is  true,  many  times  cast  up  to 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  217 

us  as  the  due  time  for  lifting  up,  which 
yet  really  is  not  so,  because  there  are  some 
circumstances  hid  to  us,  which  renders 
that  season  unfit  for  the  thing. ■ — Hence 
John  vii.  6.  '  My  time  is  not  yet  come, 
but  your  time  is  always  ready.'  But  when 
all  the  circumstances,  always  foreknown 
of  God,  shall  come  to  be  opened  out,  and 
laid  together  before  us,  we  shall  then  see 
the  lifting  up  is  come  in  the  nick  of  time, 
most  for  the  honour  of  God  and  our  good, 
and  that  it  would  not  have  done  so  well 
sooner, 

3.  When  the  time  comes  that  is  really 
the  due  time,  the  proper  time  for  the  lift- 
ing up  a  child  of  God  from  his  humbling 
circumstances,  it  will  not  be  put  off  one 
moment  longer,  Heb.  ii.  3.  '  At  the  end 
it  shall  speak,  it  will  surely  come,  it  will 
not  tarry.'  Though  it  tarry,  it  will  not 
linger  nor  put  off  to  another  time.  O 
what  rest  of  heart  would  the  firm  faith  of 
this  afford  us !  there  is  not  a  child  of  God 
but  would,  with  the  utmost  carefulness, 
protest  against  the  lifting  up  before  the 
due  time,  as  against  an  unripe  fruit  casten 
to  him  by  an  angry  father  that  would  set 
his  teeth  on  edge.     Since  it  is  so  then? 


218  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

could  we  firmly  believe  this  point,  that  it 
would  undoubtedly  come  in  the  due  time, 
without  losing  of  a  minute,  it  would  afford 
a  sound  rest.  It  must  be  so,  because  God 
has  said  it;  were  the  case  never  so  hope- 
less, were  mountains  of  difficulties  lying 
in  the  way  of  it,  at  the  appointed  time  it 
will  blow,  (Ileb.)  Hab.  ii.  3.  A  metaphor 
from  the  wind  rising  in  a  moment  after  a 
dead  calm. 

4.  The  humbling  circumstances  are  or- 
dinarily carried  to  the  utmost  point  of 
hopelessness  before  the  lifting  up.  The 
knife  was  at  Isaac's  throat  before  the  voice 
was  heard,  2  Cor.  i.  8,  9.  For  we  would 
not,  brethren,  have  you  ignorant  of  our 
trouble  which  come  to  us  in  Asia,  that  we 
were  pressed  out  of  measure,  above  strength, 
in  so  much  that  we  despaired  even  of  life  ; 
but  we  had  the  sentence  of  death  in  ourselves, 
that  we  should  not  trust  in  ourselves,  but  in 
God,  which  raiseth  the  dead.  Things  soon 
seemed  to  us  arrived  at  that  point ;  such 
is  the  hastiness  of  our  spirits.  But  things 
may  have  far  to  go  down  after  we  think, 
they  are  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  And  we 
are  almost  as  little  competent  judges  of 
the  point  of  hopelessness,  as  of  the  due 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  219 

time  of  lifting  up.  But  readily  God  car- 
ries his  people's  humbling  circumstances 
downward,  still  downward,  till  they  come 
to  that  point.  Two  reasons  are  to  be 
noticed. 

(1.)  One  from  the  explanatory  cause  of 
it.  Herein  God  is  holding  the  same 
course  which  he  held  in  the  case  of  the 
man  Christ,  the  beloved  pattern  copied 
after  in  all  the  dispensations  of  Providence 
towards  the  church,  and  every  particular 
believer,  Rom.  viii.  29.  He  was  all  along 
a  man  of  sorrows ;  as  his  time  went  on, 
the  waters  swelled  more,  till  he  was 
brought  to  the  dust  of  death;  then  he  was 
buried,  and  the  grave-stone  sealed ;  which 
done,  the  world  thought  they  were  freely 
quit  of  him,  and  he  would  trouble  them 
no  more.  But  they  quite  mistook  it; 
then,  and  not  till  then,  was  the  due  time 
for  lifting  him  up.  And  the  liftings  up 
that  his  people  get  most  remarkably,  are 
only  little  pieces  fashioned  after  this  grand 
pattern. 

(2.)  Another  from  the  final  cause,  the 
end  and  design  Providence  aims  at  in  it, 
and  that  is  to  carry  the  believer  clean  off 
his  own,  and  all  created  foundations,  to 


220  THE    CROOK    IN   THE    LOT. 

place  his  trust  and  hope  in  the  Lord  alone, 
2  Cor.  i.  9.  '  That  we  should  not  trust  in 
ourselves,  but  in  God  which  raiseth  the 
dead.'  The  life  of  a  Christian  here  is 
designed  to  be  a  life  of  faith ;  and  though 
faith  may  act  more  easily  that  it  has  some 
help  from  sense,  yet  it  certainly  acts  most 
nobly  when  it  acts  over  the  belly  of  sense. 
Then  it  is  pure  faith,  when  it  stands  only 
on  its  own  native  legs,  the  power  and 
word  of  God,  Rom.  iv.  19,  20.  And  being 
not  weak  in  faith,  he  considered  not  his  own 
body  now  dead — neither  yet  the  deadness  of 
Sarah's  womb.  He  staggered  not  at  the 
promise  of  God  through  unbelief;  but  was 
strong  in  faith,  giving  glory  to  God.  And 
thus  it  must  do,  when  matters  are  carried 
to  the  utmost  point  of  hopelessness. 

3.  Due  preparation  of  the  heart,  for 
the  lifting  up  out  of  humbling  circum- 
stances, goes  before  the  due  time  of  that 
lifting  up,  according  to  the  promise.  It 
is  not  so  in  every  lifting  up  ;  the  lifting  up 
of  the  common  providences  are  not  so 
critically  managed;  men  will  have  them, 
will  want  them  no  longer,  and  God  flings 
them  to  him  in  anger,  ere  they  are  pre- 
pared for  them,  Hos.  xiii.  11.      'I  gave 


THE   CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  221 

thee  a  king  in  mine  anger/  They  can  by 
no  means  abide  the  trial,  and  God  takes 
them  off  as  reprobate  silver  that  is  not 
able  to  abide  it,  Jer.  vi.  29,  30. 

This  due  preparation  consists  in  a  due 
humiliation,  Psa.  x.  17.  And  it  often 
takes  much  work  to  bring  about  this, 
which  is  another  point  that  we  are  very 
incompetent  judges  of.  We  should  have 
thought  Job  was  brought  very  low  in  his 
spirit  by  the  providence  of  God  bruising 
him  on  the  one  hand,  and  his  friends  on 
the  other,  for  a  long  time :  Yet,  after  all 
he  had  endured  both  ways,  God  saw  it 
necessary  to  speak  to  him  himself,  for  his 
humiliation,  chap,  xxxviii.  1.  By  that 
speech  of  God  himself  he  was  brought  to 
his  knees,  chap.xl.  4,5.  And  we  should 
have  thought  he  was  then  sufficiently  hum- 
bled, and  perhaps  he  thought  so  himself 
too.  But  God  saw  a  further  degree  of 
humiliation  necessary,  and  therefore  just 
begins  anew  again  to  speak  for  his  humi- 
liation, which  at  length  laid  him  in  the 
dust,  chap.  xlii.  5,  6.  And  when  he  was 
thus  prepared  for  lifting  up,  he  obtained  it. 

There  are  six  things,  I  conceive,  belong- 


222  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

ing  to   this  humiliation,   preparatory  to 
lifting  up. 

1.  A  deep  sense  of  sinfulness  and  vn- 
worthi?iess  of  being  lifted  up  at  all,  Job 
xl.4.  'Behold  I  am  vile,  what  shall  I 
answer  thee  ?  1  will  lay  mine  hand  upon 
my  mouth.'  People  may  be  long  in  hum- 
bling circumstances,  ere  they  be  brought 
this  length;  even  good  men  are  much 
prejudiced  in  their  own  favour,  and  may 
so  far  forget  themselves  as  to  think  God 
deals  his  favours  unequally,  and  is  more 
severe  on  them  than  on  others.  Elihu 
marketh  this  wrong  in  Job,  under  his 
humbling  circumstances,  Job  xxxiii.  10 
— 12.  And  I  believe  it  will  be  found, 
there  is  readily  a  greater  keenness  to  vin- 
dicate our  honour  from  the  imputation  the 
humbling  circumstances  seem  to  lay  upon 
it,  than  to  vindicate  the  honour  of  God  in 
the  justice  and  equity  of  the  dispensation. 
The  blindness  of  an  ill-natured  world, 
still  ready  to  suspect  the  worst  causes  for 
humbling  circumstances,  as  if  the  greatest 
sufferers  were  surely  the  greatest  sinners, 
Luke  xiii.  4,  gives  a  handle  for  this  bias 
of  the  corrupt  nature. —  But  God  isajea- 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  223 

lous  God,  and  when  he  appears  sufficient- 
ly to  humble,  he  will  cause  the  matter  of 
our  honour  to  give  way,  like  a  sandy  brae 
under  our  feet,  while  we  shall  be  obliged 
to  apply  earnestly  to  the  vindication  of 
his. 

2.  A  resignation  to  the  divine  pleasure 
as  to  the  time  of  lifting  up.  God  gives  the 
promise,  leaving  the  time  blank  as  to  us. 
Our  time  is  always  ready,  and  we  rashly 
fill  it  up  at  our  own  hand.  God  does 
not  keep  our  time,  because  it  is  not  the 
due  time.  Hence  we  are  ready  to  think 
his  word  fails;  whereas  it  is  but  our  own 
harsh  conclusion  from  it  that  fails,  Psa. 
cxvi.  11.  'I  said  in  my  haste,  all  men 
are  liars.'  Several  of  the  saints  have 
gotten  on  the  finger  ends  by  this  means, 
and  thereby  learned  to  let  alone  filling 
up  that  blank.  The  first  promise  was 
thus  used  by  believing  Eve,  Gen.  iv.  1. 
Another  promise  was  so  by  believing 
Abraham,  after  about  ten  years  on-waiting, 
Gen.  xvi.  another  by  David,  forecited, 
Psa.  cxvi.  11. 

If  this  be  the  case  of  any  child  of  God, 
let  them  not  be  discouraged  upon  it, 
thinking  they  were  over  rash  in  applying 


224  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

the  promise  to  themselves :  they  were 
only  so  in  applying  the  time  to  the  pro- 
mise; a  mistake  that  saints  in  all  ages 
have  made,  which  they  repented,  and  saw 
the  folly  of,  and  let  alone  that  point  for 
the  time  to  come;  and  then  the  promise 
was  fulfilled  in  its  own  due  time.  Let 
them  in  such  circumstances  go  and  do 
likewise,  leaving  the  time  entirely  to  the 
Lord. 

3.  An  entire  resignation  as  to  the  way 
and  manner  of  bringing  it  about.  We 
are  ready  to  do,  as  to  the  way  of  accom- 
plishing the  promise,  just  as  with  the 
time  of  it,  to  set  a  particular  way  for  the 
Lord's  working  of  it;  and  if  that  be  not 
kept,  the  proud  heart  is  stumbled,  2  Kings 
v.  11.  But  Naaman  was  wroth,  and  he 
went  away,  and  said,  Behold,  I  thought 
he  wilt  surely  come  out  to  me,  and  stand  and 
call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  his  God,  and 
strike  his  hand  over  the  place.  But  the 
Lord  will  have  his  people  broke  off  from 
that  too,  that  they  shall  prescribe  no  way 
to  him,  but  leave  that  to  him  entirely, 
as  in  that  same  case,  ver.  14.  He  went 
down  and  dipped  himself  seven  times  in 
Jordan,   according   to    the   suying   of  the 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  225 

man  of  God, — and  he  was  clean.  The 
compass  of  our  knowledge  of  ways  and 
means  is  very  narrow,  as,  if  one  is 
blocked  up,  oft-times  we  cannot  see  ano- 
ther ;  but  our  God  knows  many  ways  of 
relief,  where  we  know  but  one  or  none 
at  all;  and  it  is  very  usual  for  the  Lord 
to  bring  the  lifting  up  of  his  people  in 
a  way  they  had  no  view  to,  after  repeated 
disappointments  from  those  places  whence 
they  had  great  expectation. 

4.  Resignation  as  to  the  degree  of  the 
lifting  up,  yea,  and  as  to  the  very  being 
of  it  in  time.  The  Lord  will  have  his 
people  weaned  so,  that  however  hasty 
they  have  sometimes  been,  that  they  be- 
hoved to  be  so  soon  lifted  up,  and  could 
no  longer  bear,  they  shall  be  brought  at 
length  to  set  no  time  at  all,  but  submit 
to  go  to  the  grave  under  their  weight, 
if  it  seem  good  in  the  Lord's  eyes;  and 
in  that  case  they  will  be  brought  to  be 
content  with  any  measure  of  it  in  time, 
without  ascribing  how  much,  2  Sam.  xv. 
25,  26.  If  I  shall  find  favour  in  the  eijes 
of  the  Lord,  he  will  bring  me  again. — But 
if  he  thus  say,  I  have  no  delight  in  thee  ; 
Q 


226  THE    CROOK    IN    THE   LOT. 

behold,  here  am  I,  let  him  do  as  seemeili 
unto  him. 

5.  The  continuing  of  praying  and 
waiting  on  the  Lord  in  the  case,  Eph. 
vi.  18.  '  Praying  always  with  all  prayer 
and  supplication  in  the  Spirit,  and  watch- 
ing thereunto  with  all  perseverance.'  It 
is  pride  of  heart,  and  unsubduedness  of 
spirit,  that  makes  people  give  over  pray- 
ing and  waiting,  because  their  humbling 
circumstances  are  lengthened  out  time 
after  time,  2  Kings  vi.  33.  But  due 
humility,  going  before  the  lifting  up, 
brings  men  into  that  temper,  to  pray, 
wait,  and  endure  resolutely,  setting  no 
time  for  the  giving  it  over  till  the  lifting 
up  come,  whether  in  lime  or  eternity, 
Lam.  iii.  49,  50. 

6.  Mourning  under  mismanagements  in 
the  trial,  Job  xlii.  3.  '  Therefore  have  I 
uttered  that  I  understood  not,  things  too 
wonderful  for  me,  which  I  knew  not.' 
The  proud  heart  dwells  and  expatiates  on 
the  man's  sufferings  in  the  trial,  and  casts 
out  all  the  folds  of  the  trial,  on  that  side, 
and  views  them  again  and  again.  But 
when  the  Spirit  of  God  comes  duly  to 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  227 

humble,  in  order  to  lifting  up,  he  will 
cause  the  man  to  pass,  in  a  sort,  the 
suffering  side  of  the  trial,  and  turn  his 
eyes  on  his  own  conduct  in  it,  ransack 
it,  judge  himself  impartially,  and  con- 
demn himself:  so  that  his  mouth  will  be 
stopt.  This  is  that  humility  that  goeth 
before  the  lifting  up  in  time,  in  the  way 
of  the  promise. 

II.  We  proceed  to  consider  the  lifting 
up  as  brought  about  at  the  end  of  time,  in 
the  other  world.     And, 

1st,  A  word  as  to  the  nature  of  this 
lifting  up.  Concerning  it  we  shall  say 
these  five  things  : 

1.  There  is  a  certainty  of  this  lifting 
up,  in  all  cases  of  the  humbled  under 
humbling  circumstances.  Though  one 
cannot,  in  every  case,  make  them  sure 
of  a  lifting  up  in  time,  yet  they  may  be 
assured,  be  the  case  what  it  will,  they  will, 
without  all  peradventure,  get  a  lifting  up 
on  the  other  side,  2  Cor.  v.  1.  *  For  we 
know,  that  if  our  earthly  house  of  this 
tabernacle  were  dissolved,  we  have  a 
building  of  God,  a  house  not  made  with 
Q2 


228  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens.'  Though 
God's  humble  children  may  both  break- 
fast and  dine  on  bread  of  adversity,  and 
water  of  affliction,  they  will  be  sure  to 
sup  sweetly  and  plentifully.  And  the 
believing  expectation  of  the  latter  might 
serve  to  qualify  the  former,  and  make 
easy  under  it. 

2.  It  will  be  a.  perfect  lifting  up,  Heb. 
xii.  23.  They  will  be  perfectly  delivered 
out  of  their  particular  trials,  and  special 
furnace,  be  what  it  will,  that  made  them 
weary  many  a  day.  Lazarus  was  then 
delivered  from  his  poverty  and  sores,  and 
lying  at  the  rich  man's  gate,  Luke  xvi.  22. 
and  fully  delivered.  Yea,  they  will  get  a 
lifting  up  from  all  their  humbling  circum- 
stances together.  All  the  imperfections 
will  then  be  at  an  end,  inferiority  in 
relations,  contradictions,  afflictions,  un- 
certainty, and  sin.  If  it  was  long  a 
coming,  there  will  be  a  blessed  moment 
when  they  shall  get  altogether. 

3.  They  will  not  only  be  raised  out  of 
their  low  condition,  but  they  will  be  set 
up  on  high,  as  Joseph  :  not  only  brought 
out  of  prison,  but  made  ruler  over  the 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  229 

land  of  Egypt.  And  they  will  be  lifted 
up. 

(1.)  Into  a  high  place,  Luke  xvi.  22. 
'  The  beggar  died,  and  was  carried  by 
the  angels  into  Abraham's  bosom.'  Now 
they  are  at  best  in  a  low  place,  but  upon 
this  earth  ;  there  they  will  be  seated  in  the 
highest  heavens,  Phil.  i.  23.  with  Eph. 
iv.  10.  Often,  in  their  humbling  circum- 
stances, they  are  obliged  now  to  embrace 
dunghills ;  then  they  will  be  set  with 
Christ  on  his  throne,  Rev.  iii.  21.  'To 
him  that  overcometh  will  I  grant  to  sit 
with  me  on  my  throne.7  Though  their 
belly  now  cleaves  to  the  earth,  and  men 
say,  Bow  down,  that  we  may  pass  over 
you,  they  will  then  be  settled  in  the  hea- 
venly mansions,  above  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars. 

(2.)  Into  a  high  state  and  condition,  a 
state  of  perfection.  Out  of  all  their  trou- 
bles, and  uneasiness,  they  will  be  set  into 
a  state  of  rest;  from  their  mean  and  in- 
glorious condition,  they  will  be  advanced 
into  a  state  of  glory ;  their  afflicted  and 
sorrowful  life,  will  be  succeeded  with  a 
fulness  of  joy;  and,  for  their  humbling 


230  THE    CROOK    IN    THELOT. 

circumstances,  they  will  be  clothed  with 
eternal  glory  and  honour. 

4.  It  will  be  a  final  lifting  up,  after 
which  there  will  be  no  more  casting  down 
for  ever,  Rev.  vii.  16.  When  we  get  a 
lifting  up  in  time,  we  are  apt  to  imagine 
fondly  we  are  at  the  end  of  our  trials; 
but  we  soon  find  we  are  too  hasty  in  our 
conclusions,  and  the  cloud  returns,  Psalm 
xxx.  6,  7.  '  In  my  prosperity,  I  said,  I 
shall  never  be  moved.  Thou  didst  hide 
thy  face,  and  I  was  troubled.'  But  then 
indeed  the  trial  is  quite  over,  the  fight  is 
at  an  end,  and  then  is  the  time  of  the 
retribution  and  triumph. 

5.  There  will  not  be  the  least  remain- 
ing uneasiness  from  the  humbling  circum- 
stances, but,  on  the  contrary,  they  will 
have  a  glorious  and  desirable  effect.  I 
make  no  question  but  the  saints  will  have 
the  remembrance  of  the  humbling  cir- 
cumstances they  were  under  here  below. 
Did  the  rich  man  in  hell  remember  his 
having  five  brethren  on  the  earth,  how 
sumptuously  he  fared,  how  Lazarus  sat  at 
his  gate ;  and  can  we  doubt  but  the  saints 
will  remember  perfectly  their  heavy  trials  ? 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  231 

Rev.  vi.  10.  But  then  they  will  remem- 
ber them  as  waters  that  fail ;  as  the  man 
recovered  to  health,  remembers  his  tos- 
sings  on  the  sick  bed :  and  that  is  a  way 
of  remembering  that  sweetens  the  present 
state  of  health  beyond  what  otherwise  it 
would  be.  Certainly  the  shore  of  the 
Red  Sea  was  the  place  that,  of  all  places, 
was  the  fittest  to  help  the  Israelites  to 
sing  in  the  highest  key,  Rev.  xv.  3.  And 
the  humbling  circumstances  of  saints  on 
the  earth  will  be  of  the  same  use  to  them 
in  heaven. 

2dly,  A  word  to  the  due  time  of  this 
lifting  up.  There  is  a  particular,  definite 
time  for  it  in  every  saint's  case,  which  is 
the  due  time,  but  it  is  hid  from  us.  We 
can  only  say  in  general, 

1.  Then  is  the  due  time  for  it,  when 
our  work  we  have  to  do  in  this  world  is 
over.  God  has  appointed  every  one  their 
task,  fight,  trial,  and  work ;  and,  till  that 
is  done,  we  are  in  a  sort  immortal,  John 
ix.  4.  and  xi.  9.     That  work  is, 

(1.)  Doing  work;  work  set  to  us,  by 
the  great  Master,  to  be  done  for  the 
honour  of  God  and  the  good  of  our  fel- 


232  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

low-creatures,  Eccl.  ix.  10.  We  must 
be  content  to  be  doing  on,  even  in  our 
humbling  circumstances,  till  that  be  done 
out.  It  is  not  the  due  time  for  that  lift- 
ing up,  till  we  are  at  the  end  of  that  work, 
and  so  have  served  our  generation. 

(2.)  Suffering  work.  There  is  a  cer- 
tain portion  of  suffering  that  is  allotted 
for  the  mystical  body ;  and  the  head  has 
divided  to  the  several  members  their 
proportions  thereof;  and  it  is  not  the  due 
time  for  that  lifting  up,  till  we  have  ex- 
hausted the  share  thereof  allotted  to  us. 
Paul  looked  on  his  life  as  a  going  on  in 
that,  Col.  i.  24. 

2.  When  that  lifting  up  comes,  we  shall 
see  it  is  come  exactly  in  the  due  time ; 
that  it  was  well  it  was  neither  sooner  nor 
later;  for  though  heaven  is  always  better 
than  earth,  and  that  it  would  be  better 
for  us,  absolutely  speaking,  to  be  in  hea- 
ven than  on  earth,  yet  certainly  there  is  a 
time  wherein  it  is  better,  for  the  honour 
of  God,  and  his  service,  that  we  be  on  the 
earth  than  in  heaven,  Phil.  i.  34.  '  Ne- 
vertheless, to  abide  in  the  flesh  is  more 
needful  for  vou.'     And  it  will  be  no  grief 


THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT.  233 

of  heart  to  them  when  there,  that  they 
were  so  long  in  their  humbling  circum- 
stances, and  were  not  brought  sooner. 

Use  1.  Let  not  then  the  humble  cast 
away  their  confidence,  whatever  theirhum- 
bling  circumstances  be ;  let  them  assure 
themselves  there  will  come  a  lifting  up  to 
them  at  length  ;  if  not  here,  yet  to  be  sure 
hereafter.  Let  them  keep  this  in  their 
view,  and  comfort  themselves  with  it,  for 
God  has  said  it,  Psalm  ix.  18.  '  The 
needy  shall  not  alway3  be  forgotten,'  If 
the  night  were  never  so  long,  the  morning 
will  come  at  length. 

2.  Let  patience  have  her  perfect  work. 
The  husbandman  waits  for  the  return  of 
his  seed,  the  sea-merchant  for  the  return 
of  his  ships,  the  store-master  for  what  he 
calls  year-time,  when  he  draws  in  the 
produce  of  his  flocks.  All  these  have 
long  patience,  and  why  should  not  the 
Christian  too  have  patience,  and  patiently 
wait  for  the  time  appointed  for  his  lifting 
up  ? 

You  have  heard  much  of  the  Crook  in 
the  Lot;  the  excellency  of  humbleness 
of  spirit  in  a  low  lot,  beyond  pride  of 


231  THE    CROOK    IN    THE    LOT. 

spirit,  though  joined  with  a  high  one : — 
You  have  been  called  to  humble  your- 
selves in  your  humbling  circumstances, 
and  assured  in  that  case  of  a  lifting  up. 
To  conclude :  We  may  assure  ourselves, 
God  will  at  length  break  in  pieces  the  proud, 
he  they  never  so  high  ;  and  he  will  trium- 
phantly lift  up  the  humble,  be  they  ever  so 
low. 


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